Effects of Good and Bad Parenting and Sibling's Influence on Delinquency

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Chapter 8: The Family and Delinquency
How parents interact and behave towards their children dictates the children's social behavior patterns. Family relationships may influence misbehavior in adolescence more than peer pressure. There is a strong connection between having a warm and loving relationship with parents and living a positive and noble lifestyle (Siegel and Welsh 248). Juveniles who are not shown parental love and care are often caught in antisocial and delinquent behaviors. In general, good parenting lowers the risk of engaging in delinquent acts for children living in areas where crime is highest.
There are several changes in the structure and form of American families. First, there is increased divorce in nuclear families, with approximately half of all those marriages ending in divorce (249). A family where the man is the breadwinner and the woman takes care of the home is now a thing of the past. Only a third of children from the African American culture live in complete families where the father and mother are actively involved in taking care of them. There are more than 1.3 million children born out of wedlock annually in America (249). As the days go by, the family continues to go through economic stress, exposing lots of children to poverty.
According to research, children born out of secure and stable marriages usually become independent and stable. On the other hand, children born into families who later go through breakups are at a greater risk of developing antisocial behaviors and hyperactivity (251). The family breakup has been described as a traumatic event that spoils the clear perception of children regarding life and relationships and exposes them to misbehavior. The effect of family breakup on children is usually long-lasting.
There is nothing as unfortunate as a child growing in a family where there are unending parental conflicts. Families with conflict usually produce children who get into delinquent acts, unlike families with harmony and peace. In homes where there is conflict, children are usually exposed to the notion that aggression is normal and appropriate (254). Such children are capable of causing more conflicts and destabilizing homes.
It is funny how parents of children who get into misbehavior and delinquency are not good leaders and pacesetters, while parents of upright and secure children can be defined by their uprightness, leadersh...