NCJ Number
73338
Journal
Zentralblatt fuer Jugendrecht und Jugendwohlfart Volume: 65 Issue: 3 Dated: (1978) Pages: 113-122
Date Published
1978
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Data on 69 juvenile offenders in a German correctional facility were analyzed to determine the relationship between the family environment and criminal behavior.
Abstract
This is the second of five articles which resulted from study of the upbringing of juvenile delinquents. The sample was randomly selected from a Schwaebisch Hall facility and included 14 to 22 year old offenders. The results showed that most of the youths were raised by their natural parents, a mother, or grandparents until their sixth year. From the youths' 6th to 14th years, the number of those raised by one or both parents or by grandparents steadily declined; and from their 14th year on, the youths were separated from their family members as a result of criminal convictions. Of those youths who were raised by their grandparents as early as from age 2, 42.9 percent later committed violent crimes, as opposed to 36.4 percent of those who were raised by both parents and 25 percent of those who were raised by their mothers alone. Property crimes were more often committed by those who were raised by one or both parents at this early age. Of those youths who were living in homes for juveniles by the age of 12, 25 percent had already committed offenses between the ages of 6 and 10, as compared to 12 percent of those who were still living with one or both parents. For the whole study group, the chances that a parent or relative committed a criminal offense were about four to six times greater than those for the general population. Almost half of the juvenile offenders were raised by parents or guardians who were drug or alcohol abusers. About three-quarters of the youths were raised by persons who ignored them (26.1 percent), who rejected them (39.1 percent), or who overprotected them (8.7 percent). Half of the youths who committed violent offenses and one-third of those who committed robbery were raised by persons who ignored them. While 75.4 percent of the sample received some form of punishment at home, 47.8 percent of the total received corporal punishment, 11.6 percent were placed under house arrest, and 10.1 percent lost allowances or other privileges. Those who experienced corporal punishment or house arrest tended to commit offenses earlier than other youths. Over three-quarters of the sample were raised in cities, and about half had lived in homes that were too small for the occupants. Data tables and footnotes with references are included. --in German. (Related documents: 73337, 73339, 73340, 73341.)