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Family Transitions and Later Delinquency and Drug Use

  • Empirical Research
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Abstract

Changes in the family structure can be very disruptive to adolescents who live in those families. This article examines the impact of the number of family transitions on delinquent and drug-using behavior. Specifically, the effect of family transitions is hypothesized to be mediated by problems within the family, school, and peer settings. A sample of 646 boys (73%) and girls (27%) taken from a longitudinal panel study of high-risk adolescents are used to examine these hypotheses. For girls, little support is found for the direct or the indirect effect of family transitions on delinquent behavior or drug use. For boys, however, both forms of problem behavior are influenced by family transitions directly and indirectly through changes in, and problems with, peer associations. The findings suggest that during times of family turmoil, the friendship network of adolescent male children is also disrupted, leading to an increase in associations with delinquent others and, in turn, an increase in problematic behaviors.

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Acknowledgements

Support for this work was provided by the National Institute of Mental Health (5 R01 MH56486), the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice (96-MU-FX-0014), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (5 R01 DA05512-07), and the National Science Foundation (SES-8912274), and was aided by grants to the Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at the University at Albany from NICHD (P30 HD32041) and NSF (SBR-9512290). Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the funding agencies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Marvin D. Krohn

  2. School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, Albany, NY, USA

    Gina Penly Hall & Alan J. Lizotte

Authors
  1. Marvin D. Krohn
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  2. Gina Penly Hall
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  3. Alan J. Lizotte
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gina Penly Hall.

Appendices

Appendix A

Since we interviewed you last time, have you…

General Delinquency

  1. 1.

    Run away from home?

  2. 2.

    Skipped classes without an excuse?

  3. 3.

    Lied about your age to get into some place or to buy something? (for example, lying about your age to get into a movie or buy alcohol)

  4. 4.

    Hitchhiked a ride with a stranger?

  5. 5.

    Carried a hidden weapon?

  6. 6.

    Been loud or rowdy in a public place where someone complained and you got in trouble?

  7. 7.

    Begged for money or things from strangers?

  8. 8.

    Been drunk in a public place?

  9. 9.

    Damaged, destroyed, marked up, or tagged somebody else’s property on purpose?

  10. 10.

    Set fire on purpose or tried to set fire to a house, building, or car?

  11. 11.

    Avoided paying for things, like a movie, taking bus rides, using a computer, or anything else?

  12. 12.

    Gone into or tried to go into a building to steal or damage something?

  13. 13.

    Tried to steal or actually stolen money or things worth $5 or less?

  14. 14.

    Tried to steal or actually stolen money or things worth $5-$50?

  15. 15.

    Tried to steal or actually stolen money or things worth between $50 and $100?

  16. 16.

    Tried to steal or actually stolen money or things worth more than $100?

  17. 17.

    Tried to buy or sell things that were stolen?

  18. 18.

    Taken someone else’s car or motorcycle for a ride without the owner’s permission?

  19. 19.

    Stolen or tried to steal a car or other motor vehicle?

  20. 20.

    Forged a check or used fake money to pay for something?

  21. 21.

    Used or tried to use a credit card, bank card, or automatic teller card without permission?

  22. 22.

    Tried to cheat someone by selling them something that was not what you said it was or that was worthless?

  23. 23.

    Attacked someone with a weapon or with the idea of seriously hurting or killing them?

  24. 24.

    Hit someone with the idea of hurting them?

  25. 25.

    Been involved in gang or posse fights?

  26. 26.

    Thrown objects such as rocks or bottles at people?

  27. 27.

    Used a weapon or force to make someone give you money or things?

  28. 28.

    Made obscene phone calls?

  29. 29.

    Been paid for having sexual relations with someone?

  30. 30.

    Physically hurt or threatened to hurt someone to get them to have sex with you?

  31. 31.

    Sold marijuana, reefer or pot?

  32. 32.

    Sold hard drugs such as crack, heroin, cocaine, LSD or acid?

Drug Use

  1. 1.

    Used marijuana, reefer or pot?

  2. 2.

    Inhaled things, other than cigarettes, like glue to get high?

  3. 3.

    Tried LSD, acid, or cubes?

  4. 4.

    Tried cocaine, coke or snow, other than crack?

  5. 5.

    Tried crack?

  6. 6.

    Tried heroin or smack?

  7. 7.

    Tried angel dust or PCP?

  8. 8.

    Tried tranquilizers, ludes or valium?

  9. 9.

    Tried downers, yellow jackets or red or blue devils?

  10. 10.

    Tried uppers, speed, bennies or black beauties?

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Krohn, M.D., Hall, G.P. & Lizotte, A.J. Family Transitions and Later Delinquency and Drug Use. J Youth Adolescence 38, 466–480 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9366-8

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