Family Attachment and Delinquency Among Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Adolescent Self-Disclosure and Parental Knowledge

Abstract

As a crucial factor in the personal development, social interaction, and emotional maturation of children, family attachment plays a prominent role in the social control theory of delinquency. However, limited attention has been paid to the disentanglement and causal ordering of the elements of family attachment. This study utilizes data drawn from a sample of youth in China aged twelve to seventeen to examine path models that specify the interrelationships among the elements of family attachment that contribute to delinquency and assess their relative strength. In addition, this study incorporates both parent-driven efforts and child-driven efforts into the path model. The results of this study provide a richer understanding of the causal mechanisms linking family attachment to delinquency.