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.
AgnewR. (2015). Using general strain theory to explain crime in Asian societies. Asian Journal of Criminology, 10, 131–147.
2.
AgnewR.WhiteH. R. (1992). An empirical test of general strain theory. Criminology, 30(4), 475–500.
3.
BaoW. N.HaasA.ChenX.PiY. (2014). Repeated strains, social control, social learning, and delinquency: Testing an integrated model of general strain theory in China. Youth & Society, 46(3), 402–424.
4.
BoeleS.Van der GraaffJ.De WiedM.Van der ValkI. E.CrocettiE.BranjeS. (2019). Linking parent-child and peer relationship quality to empathy in adolescence: A multilevel meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48, 1033–1055.
5.
BollenK. A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables (Vol. 210). John Wiley & Sons.
6.
CernkovichS. A.GiordanoP. C. (1987). Family relationships and delinquency. Criminology, 25(2), 295–319.
7.
CheungN. W.CheungY. W. (2008). Self-control, social factors, and delinquency: A test of the general theory of crime among adolescents in Hong Kong. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 412–430.
8.
CostelloB. J.LaubJ. H. (2020). Social control theory: The legacy of Travis Hirschi’s causes of delinquency. Annual Review of Criminology, 3, 21–41.
9.
CostelloB. J.VowellP. R. (1999). Testing control theory and differential association: A reanalysis of the Richmond Youth Project data. Criminology, 37, 815–842.
10.
CraigJ. M. (2016). Which bond matters more? Assessing the differential strengths of parental bonding measures on adolescent delinquency over time. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 14(3), 225–242.
11.
CrouterA. C.HeadM. R. (2002). Parental monitoring and knowledge of children. Handbook of Parenting, 3, 461–483.
12.
DemuthS.BrownS. L. (2004). Family structure, family processes, and adolescent delinquency: The significance of parental absence versus parental gender. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 41, 58–81.
13.
EndersC. K. (2006). Analyzing structural equation models with missing data. Structural Equation Modeling: A Second Course, 2, 493–519.
14.
GardnerL. G.ShoemakerD. J. (1989). Social bonding and delinquency. The Sociological Quarterly, 30, 481–500.
15.
Gault-ShermanM. (2012). It’s a two-way street: The bidirectional relationship between parenting and delinquency. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 121–145.
16.
GordonL. (2012). Family violence, feminism, and social control. In B. Melosh (Ed.), Gender and American history since 1890 (pp. 282–308). Routledge.
17.
GottfredsonM. R.HirschiT. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford University Press.
18.
GrasmickH. G.TittleC. R.BursikR. J.Jr.ArneklevB. K. (1993). Testing the core empirical implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 30, 5–29.
19.
HardieB. (2021). Why monitoring doesn’t always matter: The interaction of personal propensity with physical and psychological parental presence in a situational explanation of adolescent offending. Deviant Behavior, 42(3), 329–352.
20.
HayesH. D. (1997). Using integrated theory to explain the movement into juvenile delinquency. Deviant Behavior, 18(2), 161–184.
21.
HigginsG. E.JenningsW. G.MahoneyM. (2010). Developmental trajectories of maternal and paternal attachment and delinquency in adolescence. Deviant Behavior, 31(7), 655–677.
22.
HirschiT. (1969). Causes of delinquency. University of California Press.
23.
HoeveM.SmeenkW.LoeberR.Stouthamer-LoeberM.van der LaanP. H.GerrisJ. R.DubasJ. S. (2007). Long-term effects of parenting and family characteristics on delinquency of male young adults. European Journal of Criminology, 4(2), 161–194.
24.
HoeveM.StamsG. J. J.Van der PutC. E.DubasJ. S.Van der LaanP. H.GerrisJ. R. (2012). A meta-analysis of attachment to parents and delinquency. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 40, 771–785.
25.
HoffmannJ. P. (2003). A contextual analysis of differential association, social control, and strain theories of delinquency. Social Forces, 81(3), 753–785.
26.
HooperD.CoughlanJ.MullenM. (2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit. The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(1), 9.
27.
HuL.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55.
28.
HwangS.AkersR. L. (2017). Substance use by Korean adolescents: A cross-cultural test of social learning, social bonding, and self-control theories. In R. L. Akers & G. F. Jensen (Eds.), Social learning theory and the explanation of crime (pp. 39–63). Routledge.
29.
IngramJ. R.PatchinJ. W.HuebnerB. M.McCluskeyJ. D.BynumT. S. (2007). Parents, friends, and serious delinquency: An examination of direct and indirect effects among at-risk early adolescents. Criminal Justice Review, 32(4), 380–400.
30.
JacksonD. B.BeaverK. M. (2015). A shared pathway of antisocial risk: A path model of parent and child effects. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(2), 154–163.
31.
KeijsersL.BranjeS. J.VanderValkI. E.MeeusW. (2010). Reciprocal effects between parental solicitation, parental control, adolescent disclosure, and adolescent delinquency. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20(1), 88–113.
32.
KerrM.StattinH. (2000). What parents know, how they know it, and several forms of adolescent adjustment: Further support for a reinterpretation of monitoring. Developmental Psychology, 36, 366–380.
33.
KerrM.StattinH.BurkW. J. (2010). A reinterpretation of parental monitoring in longitudinal perspective. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20(1), 39–64.
34.
KierkusC. A.BaerD. (2002). A social control explanation of the relationship between family structure and delinquent behaviour. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 44(4), 425–458.
35.
LiS. D. (2004). The impacts of self-control and social bonds on juvenile delinquency in a national sample of midadolescents. Deviant Behavior, 25(4), 351–373.
36.
LiS. D.LiuT. H.XiaY. (2023). A comparative study of parenting practices and juvenile delinquency between China and the United States. Deviant Behavior, 44(4), 636–651.
37.
LittleR. J. A.RubinD. B. (1987). Statistical analysis with missing data. Wile.
38.
MelottiG.PotìS.GianesiniG.BrighiA. (2018). Adolescents at risk of delinquency: The role of parental control, trust, and disclosure. Deviant Behavior, 39(3), 347–362.
39.
MillerM. H.EsbensenF. A.FrengA. (1999). Parental attachment, parental supervision and adolescent deviance in intact and non-intact families. Journal of Crime and Justice, 22(2), 1–29.
40.
MuthénB. O.MuthénL. K. (2012). Mplus 7 base program. Muthén & Muthén.
41.
PetersonB. E.LeeD.HenningerA. M.CubellisM. A. (2016). Social bonds, juvenile delinquency, and Korean adolescents: Intra-and inter-individual implications of Hirschi’s social bonds theory using panel data. Crime & Delinquency, 62(10), 1337–1363.
42.
PreacherK. J.HayesA. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891.
43.
RankinJ. H.KernR. (1994). Parental attachments and delinquency. Criminology, 32(4), 495–515.
44.
RankinJ. H.WellsL. E. (2018). Social control theory and direct parental controls. In M. M. Lanier (Ed.), The essential criminology reader (pp. 119–128). Routledge.
45.
RomeroA. J.RuizM. (2007). Does familism lead to increased parental monitoring? Protective factors for coping with risky behaviors. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16, 143–154.
46.
SeydlitzR. (1993). The effects of gender, age, and parental attachment on delinquency: A test for interactions. Sociological Spectrum, 10(2), 209–225.
47.
SoenensB.VansteenkisteM.LuyckxK.GoossensL. (2006). Parenting and adolescent problem behavior: An integrated model with adolescent self-disclosure and perceived parental knowledge as intervening variables. Developmental Psychology, 42(2), 305–318.
48.
StattinH.KerrM. (2000). Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child Development, 71(4), 1072–1085.
49.
ThornberryT. P.LizotteA. J.KrohnM. D.FarnworthM.JangS. J. (1991). Testing interactional theory: An examination of reciprocal causal relationships among family, school, and delinquency. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 82, 3–35.
50.
UnneverJ. D.CullenF. T.MathersS. A.McClureT. E.AllisonM. C. (2009). Racial discrimination and Hirschi’s criminological classic: A chapter in the sociology of knowledge. Justice Quarterly, 26, 377–409.
51.
WeberL.MiracleA.SkehanT. (1995). Family bonding and delinquency: Racial and ethnic influences among US youth. Human Organization, 54(4), 363–372.
52.
WilloughbyT.HamzaC. A. (2011). A longitudinal examination of the bidirectional associations among perceived parenting behaviors, adolescent disclosure and problem behavior across the high school years. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 463–478.
53.
WrightJ. P.CullenF. T. (2001). Parental efficacy and delinquent behavior: Do control and support matter?Criminology, 39(3), 677–706.
54.
YooJ. A. (2017). Developmental changes in the bidirectional relationships between parental monitoring and child delinquency. Children and Youth Services Review, 73, 360–367.
