Chapter 7 PR

FAMILIES IN CONTEXT

Chapter 7Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.

WHAT IS FAMILY? What do you think? Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.


What is family?Most basic institutionAll societies and cultures have familiesWide variety of living arrangements with a range of individuals who might or might not be related by blood or legal contractWith all these variations, it is a wonder that the term family has any objective meaning



What is family?Has undergone changes Only 7% of families fit the idealized family model of husband breadwinner, wife homemaker, and their biological childrenPostmodern families include: two earner, single-parent, blended, gay, cohabitating couples, and couples without childrenThe number of married couples living with their children has dropped by half since 1970



How is looking at Families significant to the study of juvenile delinquency? Family is both a buffer against bad influences that propel young people toward antisocial behavior and a source of antisocial behavior in its own rightFamily is a place where youth can be both protected and victimizedNeglected, exploited, or abusedContext in which youth grows up might contribute to their being antisocial or dysfunctional individuals



Functions of FamiliesBecause the family is such a primary institution, it is expected to fulfill certain obligations in meeting its members needsWhen families fail to do this, other institutions (including the juvenile justice system) must step in to ensure these functions are accomplished



(1) To raise children responsiblysocialize children into the cultures prescribed ways of doing work of society and finding their role and identityProvide children with a set of moral values that is consistent with the norms and laws of society(e.g., honesty, hard work, respect for others, and responsibility)Teach children appropriate ways of expressing sexuality and engaging in reproduction of the species



(2) To provide economic supportAt one time, this was the primary functionToday support is sharedIt is not a commodity like it might be with acquaintancesAn individual supports family because they need it, not because he/she expects to be paid backIt is family that one generally turns to for economic and material support



(3) To provide emotional supportYoung people require emotional support from family throughout their childhood and adolescent yearsIdeally family members can be counted on to stick by one another



Variations in social class, race, and ethnic identity can make families perform differently in attempting to accomplish these functionsOften an illusion of the idealized familyDifficult to consider vast differences in how families function



Challenge 1: Structure and StabilityMany challenges facing families today differ from problems that influenced family life in the pastOne of the greatest challenges today is the issue of structure and stabilityIn the past, there were limits on what one could do when faced with a family crisisToday, couples are much quicker to end unsuccessful marriagesNo longer a severe social cost to divorce and general tolerance for alternative family structures



The majority of todays families do not fit the nuclear family modelRemarried Couples: one or both partners were married previously with neither having childrenDivorced parents with childrenRe-partnered Couples: couples who have had prior relationships (married or not) that produced children, and now live together in a stable committed relationship but are not legally marriedStepfamily Couples: one or both partners who were in previous relationships (married or not) that produced children



Changes in Family StructureSingle headed householdsMale-headed (2.1% of all households) or female-headed (7.2% of all households)Not all families have children23% of kids live with mother only5% living with father onlyCohabitating couplesTwo adults living together without being formally marriedMight have children from one or both partners from a previous relationshipIssues: Health insurance, Tax issues, Legal matters



Changes in Family StructureStepfamilies/Blended familiesAdults who bring their children to the new marriage from a former marriageMarital Break-up is higher in stepfamilies and the duration of the unions are typically shorter when compared to first-marriage familiesOne out of two marriage ends in divorce:75% of those divorced remarry66% of those living together or remarried break-up when children are involvedStepfamilies face the greatest risk for divorce during the first 2 years; 1/3 of stepfamilies fail during this time



Structure Gay and Lesbian familiesMight have children from heterosexual relationships or have adopted or have biological childrenMany children experience few or no problems as a result of the family structureHostility in society



SHOULD THE SCHOOL, CHURCH, AND GOVERNMENT DEVISE POLICIES BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE FAMILY HAS A TRADITIONAL STRUCTURE?

What do you think?Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.


Challenge 2: parentingParents have different resources available to them for their parentingPoverty has cumulative effects: because of having to work longer hours may not be able to give support and supervisionNo entry barrier to becoming a parentRight to reproduce is absoluteSociety has established thresholds for driving, flying, trading in the stock market, and becoming a teacherSociety has not established a required educational program, fitness test, or maturity level that prospective parents must meetResult is a great variation in the adequacy in parents



What parents might do to keep kids from becoming delinquentProviding a positive role modelInfluence on childs behavior is crucialEncouraging productive behaviorResponsibility, accountability, and the idea of serving othersLifelong processStarts in early childhoodEngaging in adequate supervisionSupervising and making corrections when child falls short of the goalInstituting effective disciplineIf done poorly it can do more harm than goodSpanking/Corporal PunishmentSome argue hitting children begins a cycle where children learn that violence is the way that powerful people deal with the powerless



Family TodayMuch of the discourse about the family and delinquency centers on the impact of divorce, family structure (such as the number of parents in the house), and interactions in the family. How we see family has changed.Concerns include: child maltreatment, parental responsibility laws, the impact and response of running away from home, and the growing phenomenon of parents in prison.Three trends impact families: marriage, divorce, and the unmarried birth rate.



Trends in the Family Marriage, Divorce,and Unmarried Birth ratesMarriage is on the decline in America.Median age at first marriage for women is 26.5 years.Median age for men is 28.7 years. Divorce rate is declining.Over the life of a marriage almost 50% will end in divorce. However, on year to year basis, decrease is less.



Unmarried Birth RatesUnmarried birth rates, in general, have been increasing since 1980 (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2011). For women between the ages of 15 and 44, the unmarried birth rate has increased from 29.4 births to 46.2 births per 1,000 women between 1980 and 2010, although the rate is down from the high of 52.5 births per 1,000 women in 2008most interesting in the trends of unmarried births is that the only age group whose trend is a steady long-term decline are girls ages 15-19



Unmarried Birth Ratesthere are still significant disparities among the birth rate for adolescents age 15-17. In 2009, Latina girls had the highest overall birth rate of 41 per 1,000 females (although this is the lowest rate for Latinas since data have been kept on their ethnicity group beginning in 1989). Black adolescents unmarried birth rate was 32.1 per 1,000 females (off a high in 1991 of over 80 births per 1,000 females).



Family and DelinquencyTwo issues impact family structure:Whether the child is living in what is commonly thought of as a traditional household or whether the child is living in some other arrangement.Family interactions/process - whether the child is attached to his or her parents, or is supervised properly, for example. How family structure impacts juvenile delinquency is still under review.Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.


Research on Family and DelinquencyIt turns out that family has also been at the center of juvenile delinquency research for decades (see Glueck & Glueck, 1950; Nye, 1958) and at the center of public discourse for at least as long what is surprising is that there is still so much we need to learn. For example, there is still some question as to whether or how family structure impacts juvenile delinquency. Does it have a direct effect? An indirect effect? Or no effect at all, once other family issues such as process are taken into account?



The Changing American FamilyThe so-called traditional family is a thing of the past; no longer can this family structure be considered the normAbout three-quarters of all mothers of school-age children are employed, up from 50 percent in 1970The changing economic structure may be reflected in shifting sex roles; fathers are now spending more time with their children



Family Structure and DelinquencyMost studies examining family structure define family in biological terms and ask the question: is the child living with both biological parents?Four theories that might help us understand a link between family structure and juvenile delinquency:Strain TheorySocial control theory Feminist theoryCritical theory



What exactly is family structure?Intact biological families vs. non-intact familiesMost research on family structure is of this natureSeveral studies have found very little relationship between family structure and juvenile delinquencyWhile other research has found that children from non-intact homes are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior than children from intact homesTwo- parent families vs. one-parent familiesinconclusiveIntact biological families vs. single-parent families vs. stepfamiliesinconclusive



Family ProcessResearchers believe there are a wide variety of processes within the family that may affect juvenile delinquency. Four of the most often studied are: AttachmentSupervisionConflictDiscipline



Diversity and the FamilyBoys and girls are differentially affected by family structure or family process.Experience strain in the family differently.They are controlled in their family differently. Girls are monitored more than boys.Girls experienced a high degree of guilt with their strain.Strain had a much stronger effect on the likelihood boys would engage in delinquency than girls. Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.


Intersections of Gender, Class,Family, and DelinquencyExperience that most people have is not based on just their gender or their race or their class, but is based on the intersections of these characteristics.Power-control theory looks at the impact of gender and class on how children are supervised and socialized and the impact this has on delinquency. Single-mother households are a special kind of egalitarian family type. Strain theory is more equipped to explain gender and race differences in delinquency than power-control theory.



Child victimizationBecause family is such an important institution, it should not surprise us that it is also a place where bad things happen along with goodFamilies are affected by outside forces (quality of neighborhood, availability of jobs, availability of good schools)Sources of conflict within the family include structure, substance abuse, and family violence



Child MaltreatmentU.S. The definition of maltreatment includes two categories: abuse and neglect. Abuse is characterized by overt aggression, and can be categorized in three ways: physical, emotional and sexual.Neglect is characterized by deprivation or the failure to provide for a childs basic needs, and can also be categorized in three ways: physical, educational and emotional.Younger children would be more likely to bear the brunt of maltreatment.



Child Maltreatment and DelinquencyMore than any other family factor abuse in the family has an effect on juvenile delinquency. Physical abuse is a much less likely form of child maltreatment than neglect and yet, the effects of neglect on juvenile delinquency is far less studied. Maltreatment and delinquency may also be impacted based upon when maltreatment occurs. Maltreatment and delinquency are related but we should be mindful of the conditions under which these relationship are more likely to exist.Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.


Parents in PrisonIn 2007, approximately 2.3% of all children under the age of 18 had an incarcerated parent in federal or state prison. Statistics do not capture the diversity of experiences across the states.Parental incarceration does not affect all children equally. Black children are seven times more likely to have a parent incarcerated.Gender also a factor impacting the experiences of children.Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.


The Impact of an Incarcerated ParentChildren of incarcerated parents experience more upheaval in their lives:they are more likely to live with a caregiver that abuses drugsexperience sexual and physical abusemove residences (and caregivers) multiple timesmore likely to live in povertyin single parent householdswith inadequately educated caregiversand witness more domestic violence Bates/Swan, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society 2014 SAGE Publications, Inc.


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