Patterns of family instability and crime: The association of timing of the family's disruption with subsequent adolescent and young adult criminality

This study provides a longitudinal view of selected correlates of family disruption and suggests how they may contribute to adolescent and young adult criminal behavior. Data from a sample of 410 males, ages 19–21, who took part in an 18-year follow-up study of a Danish Prospective Perinatal Cohort, were used. Paternal crime, descriptions of the families'patterns of stability, and socioeconomic status changes over the life of the offspring were examined to determine their association with official records of adolescent and young adult crime. Analyses showed that divorce followed by a stable family constellation was notassociated with increased risk of criminal behavior, whereas divorce followed by additional changes in family constellations significantly increased the risk. Age at onset of child criminality was notrelated to stability patterns. Males experiencing continued instability during adolescence were especially at risk. Downward changes in SES and record of paternal crime both showed independent associations with offspring crime.

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