Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Parent–Child Relations and Offending During Young Adulthood

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There is a long tradition of studying parent–child relationships and adolescent delinquency. However, the association between parent–child relationships and criminal offending during young adulthood is less well understood. Although the developmental tasks of young adulthood tend to focus on intimate relationships, employment, and family formation, the parent–child bond persists over the life course and likely continues to inform and shape behavior beyond adolescence. Using data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS), the influence of parental involvement on patterns of offending among respondents interviewed first as adolescents (mean age of 15 years), and later as young adults (mean age of 20 years), is examined. The TARS sample used for our study (N = 1,007) is demographically diverse (49.5% female; 25.3% Black; 7.2% Hispanic) and includes youth beyond those enrolled in college. The influences of both early and later parenting factors such as support, monitoring and conflict on young adults’ criminal behavior are examined. Results show that early monitoring and ongoing parental support are associated with lower offending in young adulthood. These effects persist net of peer influence and adolescent delinquency. This suggests the importance of examining multiple ways in which parental resources and support influence early adult behavior and well-being.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agnew, R. (1992). Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology, 30(1), 47–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, A. L., & Hughes, L. A. (2009). Exposure to situations conducive to delinquent behavior: The effects of time use, income and transportation. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 46(1), 5–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aquilino, W. S. (1997). From adolescent to young adult: A prospective study of parent-child relations during the transition to adulthood. Journal of Marriage & Family, 59, 670–686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aquilino, W. S., & Supple, A. J. (2001). Long-term effects of parenting practices during adolescence on well-being outcomes in young adulthood. Journal of Family Issues, 22(3), 289–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2005). The developmental context of substance use in emerging adulthood. The Journal of Drug Issues, 35, 235–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2007). Socialization in emerging adulthood: From the family to the wider world, from socialization to self-socialization. In J. E. Grusec & P. D. Hastings (Eds.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (pp. 208–231). New York, NY: Guilford press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burt, C. H., Simons, R. L., & Simons, L. G. (2006). A longitudinal test of the effects of parenting and the stability of self-control: Negative evidence for the general theory of crime. Criminology, 44(2), 353–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Census Bureau (2009). U.S. census bureau news. Retrieved 09/14, 2009, from http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/families_households/013378.html.

  • Cernkovich, S. A., & Giordano, P. C. (1987). Family relationships and delinquency. Criminology, 25, 295–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chassin, L., Pitts, S. C., & Prost, J. (2002). Binge drinking trajectories from adolescence to emerging adulthood in a high-risk sample: Predictors and substance abuse outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(1), 67–78.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chung, H. L., Little, M., & Steinberg, L. (2005). The transition to adulthood for adolescents in the juvenile justice system: A developmental perspective. In D. W. Osgood, E. M. Foster, C. Flanagan, & G. Ruth (Eds.), On your own without a net: The transition to adulthood for vulnerable populations (pp. 68–91). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, W. A. (1996). Relationships and development during adolescence: Interpersonal adaptation to individual change. Personal Relationships, 3, 308–318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demuth, S., & Brown, S. L. (2004). Family structure, family processes and delinquency: The significance of parental absence versus parental gender. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 41(1), 58–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, D. S., & Ageton, S. S. (1980). Reconciling race and class differences in self-reported and official estimates of delinquency. American Sociological Review, 45(1), 95–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fussell, E., & Furstenberg, F. F. J. (2005). The transition to adulthood during the twentieth century: Race, nativity and gender. In R. A. J. Settersten, F. F. J. Furstenberg, & R. G. Rumbaut (Eds.), On the frontier of adulthood (pp. 29–75). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galambos, N. L., Turner, P. K., & Tilton-Weaver, L. C. (2005). Chronological and subjective age in emerging adulthood: The crossover effect. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20(5), 538–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gecas, V., & Seff, M. A. (1990). Families and adolescents: A review of the 1980s. Journal of Marriage and Family, 52(4, Family Research in the 1980s: The Decade in Review), 941–958.

  • Giordano, P. C., Schroeder, R. D., & Cernkovich, S. A. (2007). Emotions and crime over the life course: A neo-meadian perspective on criminal continuity and change. American Journal of Sociology, 112(6), 1603–1661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grusec, J. E., & Davidov, M. (2007). Socialization in the family: The roles of parents. In J. E. Grusec & P. D. Hastings (Eds.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (pp. 284–308). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagan, J., & McCarthy, B. (1992). Streetlife and delinquency. The British Journal of Sociology, 43(4), 533–561.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hay, C. (2001). Parenting, self-control, and delinquency: A test of self-control theory. Criminology, 39(3), 707–736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hay, C. (2003). Family strain, gender, and delinquency. Sociological Perspectives, 46(1), 107–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hay, C., & Forrest, W. (2006). The development of self-control: Examining self-control theory’s stability thesis. Criminology, 44(4), 739–774.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynie, D. L., & Osgood, D. W. (2005). Reconsidering peers and delinquency: How do peers matter? Social Forces, 84(2), 1109–1130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heimer, K., & DeCoster, S. (1999). The gendering of violent delinquency. Criminology, 37(2), 277–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jang, S. J. (1999). Age-varying effects of family, school, and peers on delinquency: A multilevel modeling test of interactional theory. Criminology, 37(3), 643–686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarjoura, G. R., Triplett, R. G., & Brinker, G. P. (2002). Growing up poor: Examining the link between persistent childhood poverty and delinquency. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 18(2), 159–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenny, M. E. (1987). The extent and function of parental attachment among first-year college students. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 16(1), 17–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamborn, S. D., Mounts, N. S., Steinberg, L., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1991). Patterns of competence and adjustment among adolescents from authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful families. Child Development, 62(5), 1049–1065.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (1993). Turning points in the life course: Why change matters to the study of crime. Criminology, 31(3), 301–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (2003). Shared begining, divergent lives: Delinquent boys to age 70. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, J. S. (1997). Regression models for categorical and limited dependent variables. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKinney, C., & Renk, K. (2008). Differential parenting between mothers and fathers: Implications for late adolescents. Journal of Family Issues, 29(6), 806–827.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100(4), 674–701.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Osgood, D. W., Finken, L. L., & McMorris, B. J. (2002). Analyzing multiple-item measures of crime and deviance II: Tobit regression analysis of transformed scores. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 18(4), 319–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Padilla-Walker, L. M., Nelson, L. J., Madsen, S. D., & Barry, C. M. (2008). The role of perceived parental knowledge on emerging adults’ risk behaviors. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 37(7), 847–859.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, G. R. (1986). Performance models for antisocial boys. American Psychologist, 41(4), 432–444.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Piquero, N. L., Gover, A. R., MacDonald, J. M., & Piquero, A. R. (2005). The influence of delinquent peers on delinquency: Does gender matter? Youth & Society, 36(3), 251–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Renk, K., Roddenberry, A., Oliveros, A., Roberts, R., Meehan, C., & Liljequist, L. (2006). An examination of conflict in emerging adulthood between college students and their parents. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 4(4), 43–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samoulis, J., Layburn, K., & Schiaffino, K. M. (2001). Identity development and attachment to parents in college students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30(3), 373–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1993). Crime in the making: Pathways and turning points through life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scaramella, L. V., Conger, R. D., Spoth, R., & Simons, R. L. (2002). Evaluation of a social contextual model of delinquency: A cross-study replication. Child Development, 73(1), 175–195.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schoeni, R. F., & Ross, K. E. (2005). Material assistance from families during the transition to adulthood. In R. A. J. Settersten, F. F. J. Furstenberg, & R. G. Rumbaut (Eds.), On the frontier of adulthood: Theory, research, and public policy (pp. 396–416). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schroeder, R. D., Giordano, P., C., & Cernkovich, S. A. (Forthcoming, 2010). Adult child-parent bonds and life course criminality. Journal of Criminal Justice.

  • Schulenberg, J. E., & Zarrett, N. R. (2006). Mental health during emerging adulthood: Continuity and discontinuity in courses, causes and functions. In J. J. Arnett & J. L. Tanner (Eds.), Emerging adults in America: Coming of age in the 21st century (pp. 135–172). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. J., Côté, J. E., & Arnett, J. J. (2005). Identity and agency in emerging adulthood: Two developmental routes in the individualization process. Youth & Society, 37(2), 201–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Settersten, R. A. J. (1998). A time to leave home and a time never to return? Age constraints on the living arrangements of young adults. Social Forces, 76(4), 1373–1400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanahan, M. J. (2000). Pathways to adulthood in changing societies: Variability and mechanisms in life course perspective. Annual Review of Sociology, 26(1), 667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanahan, M. J., Porfeli, E. J., Mortimer, J. T., & Erickson, L. D. (2005). Subjective age identity and the transition to adulthood: When do adolescents become adults? In R. A. J. Settersten, F. F. J. Furstenberg, & R. G. Rumbaut (Eds.), On the frontier of adulthood (pp. 225–255). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, L. G., & Conger, R. D. (2007). Linking mother-father differences in parenting to a typology of family parenting styles and adolescent outcomes. Journal of Family Issues, 28(2), 212–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Simons, L. G., Burt, C. H., Brody, G. H., & Cutrona, C. (2005). Collective efficacy, authoritative parenting and delinquency: A longitudinal test of a model integrating community-and family-level processes. Criminology, 43(4), 989–1029.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steffensmeier, D. J., Allan, E. A., Harer, M. D., & Streifel, C. (1989). Age and the distribution of crime. The American Journal of Sociology, 94(4), 803–831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornton, A., Orbuch, T. L., & Axinn, W. G. (1995). Parent-child relationships during the transition to adulthood. Journal of Family Issues, 16(5), 538–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tobin, J. (1958). Estimation of relationships for limited dependent variables. Econometrica, 26(1), 24–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warr, M. (1993). Parents, peers, and delinquency. Social Forces, 72(1), 247, 248–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warr, M. (1998). Life-course transitions and desistance from crime. Criminology, 36(2), 183–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warr, M. (2007). The tangled web: Delinquency, deception, and parental attachment. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 36(5), 607–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, B. R. E., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Miech, R. A., & Silva, P. A. (1999a). Reconsidering the relationship between SES and delinquency: Causation but not correlation. Criminology, 37(1), 175–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, B. R. E., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., & Silva, P. A. (1999b). Low self-control, social bonds, and crime: Social causation, social selection, or both? Criminology, 37(3), 479–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, J. P., & Cullen, F. T. (2001). Parental efficacy and delinquent behavior: Do control and support matter? Criminology, 39(3), 677–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Youniss, J., & Smollar, J. (1985). Adolescent relations with mothers, fathers, and friends. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD036223 and HD044206), the Department of Health and Human Services (5APRPA006009), and by the Center for Family and Demographic Research, Bowling Green State University, which has core funding from The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R24HD050959-01).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology Department, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA

    Wendi L. Johnson, Peggy C. Giordano, Wendy D. Manning & Monica A. Longmore

Authors
  1. Wendi L. Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Peggy C. Giordano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wendy D. Manning
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Monica A. Longmore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wendi L. Johnson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Johnson, W.L., Giordano, P.C., Manning, W.D. et al. Parent–Child Relations and Offending During Young Adulthood. J Youth Adolescence 40, 786–799 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9591-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9591-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation