Race Socialization and Parenting Styles: Links to Delinquency for African American and White Adolescents

• NCJ Number: 251885
• Journal: Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Volume: 14 Issue: 4 Dated: 2016 Pages: 448-467
• Author(s): Frank S. Pezzella; Terence P. Thornberry; Carolyn A. Smith
• Date Published: 2016
• Length: 20 pages
• Grant Number(s): 86-JN-CX-0007
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined differences in the use of authoritarian parenting (AP), a race socialization practice among high-risk African-American parents, and compared it to authoritative parenting (ATP), a style found efficacious for White adolescents.

Abstract

Data from the Rochester Youth Development Study were used, inclusive of African American (n = 413) and White (n = 114) adolescents. Risk for delinquency was measured by six factors. ATP included parental responsiveness and monitoring, and AP added restrictive parental control. Multivariate regression models were used to assess main and interaction effects of the parenting styles with cumulative risk. Findings indicated that ATP is a racially and class invariant child-rearing style that reduces delinquency. (Publisher abstract modified)