The Effects of Parental Divorce on the Intergenerational Transmission of Crime
This study first examines the effects of parental divorce and paternal crime on offspring offending. Then, it tests whether parental divorce moderates the intergenerational transmission of crime. Diversity within the offending population is taken into account by examining whether effects are differe...
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doaj-f628819d06f34050b651fc386942fc012020-11-24T22:56:10ZengMDPI AGSocieties2075-46982015-02-01518910810.3390/soc5010089soc5010089The Effects of Parental Divorce on the Intergenerational Transmission of CrimeSteve G.A. van de Weijer0Terence P. Thornberry1Catrien C.J.H. Bijleveld2Arjan A.J. Blokland3Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, VU University, De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The NetherlandsDepartment of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USADepartment of Criminal Law and Criminology, VU University, De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The NetherlandsNetherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), PO Box 71304, Amsterdam 1008 BH, The NetherlandsThis study first examines the effects of parental divorce and paternal crime on offspring offending. Then, it tests whether parental divorce moderates the intergenerational transmission of crime. Diversity within the offending population is taken into account by examining whether effects are different for fathers who commit crimes at different points of the life-course and by distinguishing between violent and non-violent offending. A sample of 2374 individuals from three consecutive generations from 198 Dutch families was used. The results show that parental divorce increases offspring non-violent offending, but does not increase offspring violence after controlling for parental violence. Moreover, the intergenerational transmission of violence is moderated by parental divorce: empirical evidence for intergenerational transmission of violence is only found for children who did not experience parental divorce during their youth. This moderating effect of parental divorce is even stronger if the father committed violent crimes during the child’s youth. The moderating influence of parental divorce on the intergenerational transmission of non-violent crime is less clear, and the effects are overall stronger for violent crime than for non-violent crime. These results suggest that social learning mechanisms play an important role in the intergenerational transmission of violent crime, although genetic influences cannot be ruled out.http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/5/1/89intergenerational transmissionparental divorceparental crimeviolenceexposure |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Steve G.A. van de Weijer Terence P. Thornberry Catrien C.J.H. Bijleveld Arjan A.J. Blokland |
spellingShingle |
Steve G.A. van de Weijer Terence P. Thornberry Catrien C.J.H. Bijleveld Arjan A.J. Blokland The Effects of Parental Divorce on the Intergenerational Transmission of Crime Societies intergenerational transmission parental divorce parental crime violence exposure |
author_facet |
Steve G.A. van de Weijer Terence P. Thornberry Catrien C.J.H. Bijleveld Arjan A.J. Blokland |
author_sort |
Steve G.A. van de Weijer |
title |
The Effects of Parental Divorce on the Intergenerational Transmission of Crime |
title_short |
The Effects of Parental Divorce on the Intergenerational Transmission of Crime |
title_full |
The Effects of Parental Divorce on the Intergenerational Transmission of Crime |
title_fullStr |
The Effects of Parental Divorce on the Intergenerational Transmission of Crime |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Effects of Parental Divorce on the Intergenerational Transmission of Crime |
title_sort |
effects of parental divorce on the intergenerational transmission of crime |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Societies |
issn |
2075-4698 |
publishDate |
2015-02-01 |
description |
This study first examines the effects of parental divorce and paternal crime on offspring offending. Then, it tests whether parental divorce moderates the intergenerational transmission of crime. Diversity within the offending population is taken into account by examining whether effects are different for fathers who commit crimes at different points of the life-course and by distinguishing between violent and non-violent offending. A sample of 2374 individuals from three consecutive generations from 198 Dutch families was used. The results show that parental divorce increases offspring non-violent offending, but does not increase offspring violence after controlling for parental violence. Moreover, the intergenerational transmission of violence is moderated by parental divorce: empirical evidence for intergenerational transmission of violence is only found for children who did not experience parental divorce during their youth. This moderating effect of parental divorce is even stronger if the father committed violent crimes during the child’s youth. The moderating influence of parental divorce on the intergenerational transmission of non-violent crime is less clear, and the effects are overall stronger for violent crime than for non-violent crime. These results suggest that social learning mechanisms play an important role in the intergenerational transmission of violent crime, although genetic influences cannot be ruled out. |
topic |
intergenerational transmission parental divorce parental crime violence exposure |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/5/1/89 |
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