Parenting, criminogenic settings and delinquency

Abstract

The main aim of this dissertation was to examine the relative contribution of mediators derived from different theoretical perspectives (i.e. self-control theory, differential association theory, and routine activity theory) to explaining the relationship between parenting and delinquency. It is examined how various dimensions of parenting (i.e. parental monitoring, parental limit-settings, and the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship) are related to self-control, delinquent attitudes, peer delinquency, and time spent in criminogenic settings, and how these factors are in turn related to involvement in delinquency. Because it is reasonable to assume that these mediating mechanisms are interrelated, it is important to examine these mediators simultaneously in order to determine their relative contribution to explaining the relationship between parenting and delinquency. Since time spent in criminogenic settings is a relatively new concept used to explain adolescent engagement in delinquency, however, we also examined whether and how parenting is related to time spent in criminogenic settings. As a final step, we examined gender differences in the direct and indirect pathways, derived from the various theoretical frameworks, from parenting to delinquency. Data from the Study of Peers, Activities and Neighborhoods (SPAN) were used in the current dissertation, consisting of two waves of data collection among adolescents who were between the ages of 11 and 17 at T1 (M = 14.3). In order to be able to examine both between-person differences as well as within-person changes simultaneously we proposed a multilevel modeling approach. This approach enables us to explain time-stable differences between individuals, as well as within-person change in the dependent variable, controlled for all stable individual differences. The results of this dissertation have indicated that an integration of concepts from different theories in a joint mediation model, and by examining both between-person differences and within-person changes, provides insight into the ways in which various parenting dimensions might influence adolescent involvement in delinquency. Parental monitoring, parental limit-setting and the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship might indirectly be protective for involvement in delinquency, by affecting the adolescent’s level of self-control, delinquent attitudes and peer delinquency. The present dissertation also provided some more insight into the determinants of time spent in criminogenic settings. Parents may function as access barriers by directly restricting adolescents from spending time in criminogenic settings on the one hand, but also indirectly by fostering self-control and delinquent attitudes that prevent them from spending time in criminogenic settings on the other hand. Furthermore the findings suggest that mechanisms derived from mainstream criminological theories explain involvement in delinquent behavior for both male and female adolescents. To conclude, interventions aimed at improving the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship might be as important as interventions aimed at improving parental monitoring and parental limit-setting, and boys and girls may equally benefit from these interventions.