NCJ Number
78185
Journal
Adolescence Volume: 16 Issue: 62 Dated: (Summer 1981) Pages: 409-413
Date Published
1981
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The adolescent's perception of parental behavior is shown to distinguish juvenile offenders from nonoffenders and to discriminate among broader offense categories such as status crime, violent crime, and property-related crime.
Abstract
Data were collected from 61 adolescents at a New Jersey suburban counseling center. The information related to whether the youths had committed no crime, a status crime, violent crime, or property crime. Each youth completed a Youth Perception Inventory, and reported age, sex, with whom they lived, the number of siblings at home, and sibling position. A stepwise discriminant analysis was performed to compare the classification made by the use of the discriminant analysis with the previously known classification. Results showed that the factors predicting crime were, in order of importance, (1) the child's age and sex, (2) lack of perceived paternal control, (3) lack of perceived maternal love and control, (4) perceived maternal hostility and autonomy, and (5) lack of control on the part of both parents. Findings further support the view that the youth's perception of parental behavior is highly related to the adolescent's problem behavior. Findings also suggest that both the parent's behavior and the child's behavior must be studied and treated if problem behavior is to be modified. One table and 11 references are provided.