Families, Delinquency, and Crime: Linking Society's Most Basic Institution to Antisocial Behavior

by Ronald L. Simons, Leslie Gordon Simons, Lora Ebert Wallace

Overview

This book explores the link between family life and antisocial behavior. In recent years, researchers from a variety of disciplines have investigated the relationship between society's most fundamental social institution—the family—and various forms of criminal behavior. Simons et al. fill a fundamental void in the literature by demonstrating how these seemingly disparate lines of research can be woven together using classic and contemporary theories of delinquency and crime. The book is designed to serve as a supplement for courses on juvenile delinquency, criminology, deviance, and child development.

Families, Delinquency, and Crime evaluates and explores popular explanations using the results of studies by sociologists, criminologists, and psychologists. Each chapter succinctly defines terminology, establishes a review of empirical literature, and provides an effective argument that families are a dynamic aspect of our social lives that are intricately related to delinquency and other problem behaviors. Clear examples of each situation are provided.

Part I explains child and adolescent antisocial behavior. The chapters review theory and research regarding the effect of family structure, marital conflict, parental antisocial behavior, and parents' childrearing practices on a child's risk for conduct problems and delinquency. Part II focuses on adult antisocial behavior and shows how the various family socialization processes and childhood behavior problems discussed in Part I influence the probability of later adult crime. Explanations are provided for both the continuity and discontinuity of antisocial behavior across the life course. Consideration is given to the manner in which romantic partners often modify deviant life course trajectories. The book also explores the link between family experiences during childhood and adult risk for either perpetrating or becoming the victim of marital violence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195330427
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/11/2004
Series:	The ^ARoxbury Series in Crime, Justice, and Law
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

University of Georgia

University of Georgia

Western Illinois University

Table of Contents

Foreword (by Ronald L. Akers)Part I: Family Processes and the Deviant Behavior of Children and Adolescents1. Defining Our Terms and FocusDeviance and Social NormsCultural Relativity and Antisocial BehaviorWhat Are Families? The Focus of Subsequent Chapters2. Linking Parenting and Delinquency: Theories of Social and Self-ControlCriminal Careers Start EarlyEarly Evidence Linking Parenting and DelinquencySocial Control TheoryThe Elements of Effective ParentingSelf-Control Theory3. Family Interaction and Peer Influences: Social Learning ExplanationsRespondent LearningOperant or Instrumental LearningMutual TrainingModeling as Vicarious LearningRon Akers' View of Social Learning and CrimePatterson's Coercion Model4. The Corporal Punishment ControversyMethodological ProblemsTheoretical ConsiderationsSeverity of PunishmentAge of ChildQuality of the Parent-Child RelationshipCultural and Community ContextConclusion5. Family Structure and DelinquencyChanging Family FormsSingle-Parent HouseholdsQuality of Parenting in Single-Parent HouseholdsThe Stress of Being a Single ParentNonresidential FathersBlended or StepfamiliesMultigenerational and Extended-Kin HouseholdsConclusion6. The Effects of Parental Work and Neighborhood Conditions on Family ProcessesEconomic Hardship and ParentingLinking Parental Employment to Family ProcessesCommunity Differences in the Consequences of Parental ControlCollective Socialization: Adults Influencing Other People's ChildrenThe Consequences of Labeling: The Juvenile Justice System and Family ProcessesPart II: Adult Deviance as an Expression of Childhood Socialization7. Linking Childhood Delinquency and Adult Crime: Life Course Perspectives on Antisocial BehaviorSelf-Control Theory: A Latent Trait ApproachThe Life Course Perspective: Explaining Both Continuity and ChangeEvaluating the EvidenceSummary and Conclusion8. Marital Violence: Antisocial BehaviorLearned in Childhood? The Incidence of Marital ViolenceExplaining Marital ViolencePatriarchy and Male DominanceChildhood Exposure to Family ViolenceThe Criminological PerspectiveExplaining Women's Double JeopardySummary and Conclusions9. Child Maltreatment: Inept Parenting or Expression of a General Antisocial Orientation?How Common Is Child Maltreatment? Intergenerational Transmission of Child MaltreatmentSexual Abuse of ChildrenSummary and Conclusions10. Conclusions and ObservationsReferencesName Index

Editorial Reviews

"This book...provides both an introduction to and the latest knowledge on the subject in a way that is accessible to students and other nonexperts.... After reading the book, I found myself better informed even about issues that I already knew well and had studied in depth. Simons et al. are enthusiastic, engaged, and knowledgeable about the subject of family relationships and antisocial behavior. The content of the book is richly informed, not only by the most recent research and theory in the field but also by the findings from collaborative efforts in the authors' own high-quality research. All of this is presented in a concise and remarkably well-written manner."—Ronald L. Akers, University of Florida

From the Publisher