families in context

Question 1

family trends in brief

Answer 1

• marriage & divorce rates are decreasing
• unmarried birth rates have been increasing (except for ages 15-19)
• percentage of children living with two parents has decreased from 85% (1980) to 70% (2019)

Question 2

family structure

Answer 2

compositional makeup of the family
e.g. parental types, number of children in household
what the family is

Question 3

family process

Answer 3

interactions & social exchanges that occur within the family
e.g. attachment, supervision, communication
what the family does

Question 4

research on…
intact biological vs. non-intact
families

Answer 4

children from non-intact homes are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior

(non-intact: stepfamilies or single-parent families)

Question 5

research on…
two-parent vs. one-parent
families

Answer 5

children living with two parents generally report less delinquency (stronger predictor of male than female delinquency)

Question 6

research on…
intact biological vs. single-parent vs. stepparent
families

Answer 6

some studies find that more explicit family structure definitions make relationships clearer
- lowest delinquency: intact biological families
some studies found little effect on self-reported delinquency

Question 7

attachment
family process & delinquency

Answer 7

youth who report greater attachment levels to parents are less likely to be delinquent
attachment is strongly linked to parent’s gender
- maternal attachment seems to be more important
- some research says same-sex parent/child attachment is more important
parent’s attachment to child is not important

Question 8

supervision
family processes and delinquency

Answer 8

• direct vs. indirect
• parents report that they supervise kids more than kids report being supervised
• more supervision = less delinquency

Question 9

conflict
family processes & delinquency

Answer 9

unrest between: juvenile/parent, juvenile/sibling, or parent/parent
juveniles who experience juvenile/parent or parent/parent conflict are more likely to engage in delinquency

Question 10

discipline
family processes & delinquency

Answer 10

harsh or erratic/inconsistent discipline is associated with higher likelihood of delinquency

Question 11

supervision & monitoring
gender & delinquency

Answer 11

research suggests girls are more closely monitored
sociological lens: because they can get pregnant which is a bigger toll on the family than boys getting someone pregnant

Question 12

socialization
gender & delinquency

Answer 12

research suggests parents socialize boys to take more risks than girls

Question 13

child abuse & kinds

Answer 13

physical, emotional, sexual
family is most common perpetrator of child abuse

Question 14

child neglect & kinds

Answer 14

the deprivation or failure to provide for a child’s basic needs
- physical, emotional, educational

Question 15

child maltreatment trends

Answer 15

2011 study
- ~25% of boys experienced maltreatment in lifetime
- ~26 of girls experienced maltreatment in lifetime

gender
- boys typically are physically abused
- girls are typically emotionally abused

age
- youngest kids have the highest maltreatment rates

race
- black children have the highest maltreatment rates

Question 16

runaways

Answer 16

• running away is a status offense
• child (sexual) abuse strongly related to running away
• for girls, running away due to SA is a pathway to JJS (& CJS)

Question 17

foster care & youth

overview

Answer 17

• 3/20/2024: 40,000 kids in system
• reunificaiton w/one parent is goal in 55% of cases
• median entry age: 6.3
• within 2-4 years after aging out, 20% will be incarcerated

Question 18

Adoption & Safe Families Act

Answer 18

requires that state agencies file a petition to terminate parental rights if a child has been in the foster system for 15 of the past 22 months

Question 19

youth in foster care
more likely to….

school-related

Answer 19

• be (chronically) absent from school
• receive disciplinary referrals at school
• perform below grade level
• be placed in special education

Question 20

youth in foster care
less likely to…

Answer 20

• graduate high school
• attend college

Question 21

parental incarceration

Answer 21

• more than 5m children have had a parent incarcerated at some point in their childhood (1 in 14)
• paternal incarceration: 51.2% state & 63.4% federal
• maternal incarceration: 61.7% of state & 56% federal

Question 22

parental incarceration:
who is most likely to experience

Answer 22

African American children
- 1 in 4 vs. 1 in 25 white
poor children
children of parents w/low education levels

Question 23

consequences of parental incarceration

Answer 23

• substance abuse
• homelessness
• mental health problems
• educational differences
• delinquency