Does Level of Parental Involvement Predict Juvenile Delinquency?

Abstract

Overall, research supports the positive impact of parents on their children; effective parenting not only prevents criminal behavior in youth but also cultivates a host of other desirable psychosocial outcomes later in life. Parental involvement is examined in this archival analysis of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to determine whether parental involvement predicts juvenile delinquency, using a community sample of 13,287 youth aged 12 to 17 years. Parental involvement was negatively associated with number of arrests and differed considerably between justice-involved and non-justice-involved youth; racial category was included as an exploratory analysis. Whether youth were placed on probation (but not parole) was coupled with lower parental involvement compared to non-justice-involved youth. These results are indicative of the protective effect that parents may have on adolescent outcomes, showing that higher parental involvement is associated with reduced juvenile delinquency.