Chapter 7

FAMILIES IN CONTEXT

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

What do you think?

WHAT IS FAMILY?

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

What is family?
Most basic institution
All societies and cultures have families
Wide variety of living arrangements with a range of

individuals who might or might not be related by

blood or legal contract
With all these variations, it is a wonder that the term
family has any objective meaning

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

What is family?
Has undergone changes

Only 7% of families fit the idealized family model of husband

breadwinner, wife homemaker, and their biological children
Postmodern families include: two earner, single-parent,
blended, gay, cohabitating couples, and couples without
children
The number of married couples living with their children has
dropped by half since 1970

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

How is looking at Families significant to the study of

juvenile delinquency?
Family is both a buffer against bad influences that

propel young people toward antisocial behavior and

a source of antisocial behavior in its own right
Family is a place where youth can be both protected
and victimized

Neglected, exploited, or abused

Context in which youth grows up might contribute to their
being antisocial or dysfunctional individuals

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Functions of Families
Because the family is such a primary institution, it is

expected to fulfill certain obligations in meeting its

members needs
When families fail to do this, other institutions
(including the juvenile justice system) must step in
to ensure these functions are accomplished

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

(1) To raise children responsibly

socialize children into the cultures prescribed ways

of doing work of society and finding their role and

identity
Provide children with a set of moral values that is
consistent with the norms and laws of society

(e.g., honesty, hard work, respect for others, and

responsibility)

Teach children appropriate ways of expressing

sexuality and engaging in reproduction of the

species
Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society
2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

(2) To provide economic support

At one time, this was the primary function
Today support is shared

It is not a commodity like it might be with acquaintances

An individual supports family because they need it, not
because he/she expects to be paid back

It is family that one generally turns to for economic

and material support

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

(3) To provide emotional support

Young people require emotional support from family

throughout their childhood and adolescent years

Ideally family members can be counted on to stick by
one another

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Variations in social class, race, and ethnic identity

can make families perform differently in attempting

to accomplish these functions
Often an illusion of the idealized family
Difficult to consider vast differences in how families
function

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Challenge 1: Structure and Stability

Many challenges facing families today differ from

problems that influenced family life in the past

One of the greatest challenges today is the issue of
structure and stability
In the past, there were limits on what one could do
when faced with a family crisis

Today, couples are much quicker to end unsuccessful

marriages
No longer a severe social cost to divorce and general tolerance
for alternative family structures

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

The majority of todays families do not fit the nuclear family

model
Remarried Couples: one or both partners were

married previously with neither having children

Divorced parents with children
Re-partnered Couples: couples who have had prior
relationships (married or not) that produced children,
and now live together in a stable committed
relationship but are not legally married
Stepfamily Couples: one or both partners who were
in previous relationships (married or not) that
produced children
Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society
2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Changes in Family Structure

Single headed households
Male-headed (2.1% of all households) or female-headed (7.2%
of all households)

Not all families have children

23% of kids live with mother only
5% living with father only

Cohabitating couples

Two adults living together without being formally married

Might have children from one or both partners from a previous

relationship
Issues: Health insurance, Tax issues, Legal matters

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Changes in Family Structure

Stepfamilies/Blended families

Adults who bring their children to the new marriage from a

former marriage

Marital Break-up is higher in stepfamilies and the duration of

the unions are typically shorter when compared to firstmarriage families

One out of two marriage ends in divorce:

75% of those divorced remarry

66% of those living together or remarried break-up when children are
involved

Stepfamilies face the greatest risk for divorce during the first

2 years; 1/3 of stepfamilies fail during this time

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society
2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Structure
Gay and Lesbian families

Might have children from heterosexual relationships or have

adopted or have biological children
Many children experience few or no problems as a result of the
family structure

Hostility in society

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

What do you think?

SHOULD THE SCHOOL, CHURCH,
AND GOVERNMENT DEVISE POLICIES
BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT
THE FAMILY HAS A TRADITIONAL
STRUCTURE?

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Challenge 2: parenting
Parents have different resources available to them for

their parenting

Poverty has cumulative effects: because of having to work longer

hours may not be able to give support and supervision

No entry barrier to becoming a parent

Right to reproduce is absolute

Society has established thresholds for driving, flying, trading in
the stock market, and becoming a teacher
Society has not established a required educational program,
fitness test, or maturity level that prospective parents must meet
Result is a great variation in the adequacy in parents

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

What parents might do to keep kids from becoming

delinquent
Providing a positive role model
Influence on childs behavior is crucial
Encouraging productive behavior
Responsibility, accountability, and the idea of serving others
Lifelong process
Starts in early childhood
Engaging in adequate supervision
Supervising and making corrections when child falls short of the
goal
Instituting effective discipline
If done poorly it can do more harm than good
Spanking/Corporal Punishment

Some argue hitting children begins a cycle where children learn that
violence is the way that powerful people deal with the powerless

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Family Today
Much of the discourse about the family and delinquency

centers on the impact of divorce, family structure (such as

the number of parents in the house), and interactions in
the family.
How we see family has changed.
Concerns include: child maltreatment, parental
responsibility laws, the impact and response of running
away from home, and the growing phenomenon of
parents in prison.
Three trends impact families: marriage, divorce, and the
unmarried birth rate.
Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society
2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Trends in the Family Marriage, Divorce,

and Unmarried Birth rates
Marriage is on the decline in America.
Median age at first marriage for women is 26.5 years.
Median age for men is 28.7 years.
Divorce rate is declining.
Over the life of a marriage almost 50% will end in

divorce. However, on year to year basis, decrease is

less.

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Unmarried Birth Rates

Unmarried birth rates, in general, have been

increasing since 1980 (Federal Interagency Forum

on Child and Family Statistics, 2011).

For women between the ages of 15 and 44, the unmarried birth
rate has increased from 29.4 births to 46.2 births per 1,000
women between 1980 and 2010, although the rate is down
from the high of 52.5 births per 1,000 women in 2008
most interesting in the trends of unmarried births is that the
only age group whose trend is a steady long-term decline are
girls ages 15-19

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Unmarried Birth Rates

there are still significant disparities among the birth

rate for adolescents age 15-17.

In 2009, Latina girls had the highest overall birth rate of 41 per
1,000 females (although this is the lowest rate for Latinas since
data have been kept on their ethnicity group beginning in
1989).
Black adolescents unmarried birth rate was 32.1 per 1,000
females (off a high in 1991 of over 80 births per 1,000 females).

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Family and Delinquency

Two issues impact family structure:
1) Whether the child is living in what is commonly thought

of as a traditional household or whether the child is

living in some other arrangement.
2) Family interactions/process - whether the child is
attached to his or her parents, or is supervised properly,
for example.
How family structure impacts juvenile delinquency is
still under review.

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Research on Family and Delinquency

It turns out that family has also been at the center of

juvenile delinquency research for decades (see

Glueck & Glueck, 1950; Nye, 1958) and at the center
of public discourse for at least as long
what is surprising is that there is still so much we
need to learn.

For example, there is still some question as to whether or how

family structure impacts juvenile delinquency. Does it have a
direct effect? An indirect effect? Or no effect at all, once other
family issues such as process are taken into account?

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Changing American Family

The so-called traditional family is a thing of the past;

no longer can this family structure be considered the

norm

About three-quarters of all mothers of school-age children are

employed, up from 50 percent in 1970
The changing economic structure may be reflected in shifting
sex roles; fathers are now spending more time with their
children

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Family Structure and Delinquency

Most studies examining family structure define

family in biological terms and ask the question: is

the child living with both biological parents?
Four theories that might help us understand a link
between family structure and juvenile delinquency:
1) Strain Theory
2)Social control theory
3)Feminist theory
4)Critical theory
Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society
2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

What exactly is family structure?

Intact biological families vs. non-intact families

Most research on family structure is of this nature

Several studies have found very little relationship between family
structure and juvenile delinquency
While other research has found that children from non-intact
homes are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior than
children from intact homes

Two- parent families vs. one-parent families

inconclusive

Intact biological families vs. single-parent families vs.

stepfamilies

inconclusive

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Family Process
Researchers believe there are a wide variety of

processes within the family that may affect juvenile

delinquency.
Four of the most often studied are:
Attachment
Supervision
Conflict
Discipline
Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society
2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Diversity and the Family

Boys and girls are differentially affected by family

structure or family process.

Experience strain in the family differently.
They are controlled in their family differently.
Girls are monitored more than boys.
Girls experienced a high degree of guilt with their
strain.
Strain had a much stronger effect on the likelihood
boys would engage in delinquency than girls.
Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society
2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Intersections of Gender, Class,

Family, and Delinquency
Experience that most people have is not based on just

their gender or their race or their class, but is based on the

intersections of these characteristics.
Power-control theory looks at the impact of gender and
class on how children are supervised and socialized and
the impact this has on delinquency.
Single-mother households are a special kind of
egalitarian family type.
Strain theory is more equipped to explain gender and race
differences in delinquency than power-control theory.

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Child victimization
Because family is such an important institution, it

should not surprise us that it is also a place where

bad things happen along with good

Families are affected by outside forces (quality of neighborhood,

availability of jobs, availability of good schools)

Sources of conflict within the family include

structure, substance abuse, and family violence

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Child Maltreatment
U.S. The definition of maltreatment includes two

categories: abuse and neglect.

Abuse is characterized by overt aggression, and can be
categorized in three ways: physical, emotional and sexual.
Neglect is characterized by deprivation or the failure to
provide for a childs basic needs, and can also be
categorized in three ways: physical, educational and
emotional.
Younger children would be more likely to bear the brunt
of maltreatment.
Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society
2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Child Maltreatment and Delinquency

More than any other family factor abuse in the

family has an effect on juvenile delinquency.

Physical abuse is a much less likely form of child
maltreatment than neglect and yet, the effects of
neglect on juvenile delinquency is far less studied.
Maltreatment and delinquency may also be impacted
based upon when maltreatment occurs.
Maltreatment and delinquency are related but we
should be mindful of the conditions under which these
relationship are more likely to exist.
Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society
2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Parents in Prison
In 2007, approximately 2.3% of all children under the age

of 18 had an incarcerated parent in federal or state prison.

Statistics do not capture the diversity of experiences
across the states.
Parental incarceration does not affect all children equally.
Black children are seven times more likely to have a
parent incarcerated.
Gender also a factor impacting the experiences of
children.

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Impact of an Incarcerated Parent

Children of incarcerated parents experience more

upheaval in their lives:

1) they are more likely to live with a caregiver that abuses
drugs
2) experience sexual and physical abuse
3) move residences (and caregivers) multiple times
4) more likely to live in poverty
5) in single parent households
6) with inadequately educated caregivers
7) and witness more domestic violence
Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society
2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.