NCJ Number
176533
Date Published
1998
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article examines the role of parenting and delinquent peers as mediating factors in the relationship between economic stress and delinquency.
Abstract
Officially recorded rates of most forms of crime are higher in economically disadvantaged areas. The conventional view has been that disadvantage increases the motivation to offend. However, a growing body of research evidence drawn from studies of individual families suggests that economic and social stress exert their effects on crime by disrupting the parenting process. Aggregate-level studies almost universally show a strong positive association between measures of economic stress and reported rates of child neglect and child abuse. Research also shows a strong relationship between factors such as poor parental supervision of children and a weak parent-child bond, and subsequent juvenile and adult involvement in crime. The article also examines the effect on delinquent juveniles of residence in "offender-prone" neighborhoods. The article discusses the implications of these findings for crime control policy. Notes, figures, tables, references