Parental Warmth and Juvenile Delinquency: A Longitudinal and Cross-Cultural Approach

Citation

Yun, Hye-Jung (2015). Parental Warmth and Juvenile Delinquency: A Longitudinal and Cross-Cultural Approach.

Abstract

Despite the prevalence of delinquency during adolescence and the influence of culture on parenting behaviors and adolescent outcomes, few comparative studies have examined the association between parental warmth and delinquency trajectories both longitudinally and cross-culturally. Thus, this study sought to identify cultural differences in individual delinquency trajectories and those associations with parental warmth. In Study 1, latent growth modeling (LGM) was used to examine the individual trajectories of delinquency and the protective effect of parental warmth on delinquency trajectories using the U.S. sample from the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). In Study 2, using the Korean sample from the Korean Youth Panel Survey (KYPS), the same two research questions were investigated. Lastly, Study 3 explored cultural differences in such associations between the United States and South Korea. Findings showed the patterns of delinquency across time and culture, indicating delinquency decline from middle to late adolescence in both the U.S. and Korean samples. Results also demonstrated the protective effect of parental warmth concurrently and longitudinally in both countries. More importantly, there were cultural differences in such associations, indicating that the longitudinal protective effect of parental warmth was larger for U.S. adolescents than Korean adolescents. Implications of the study suggest the need to improve a warm relationship between parent and adolescent to reduce delinquency. It is also important to understand cultural influences on parenting and adolescent outcome for educators, clinicians, politicians, interventionists, and researchers.

URL

http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/etd/9531/

Reference Type

Thesis/Dissertation

Book Title

Department of Family and Child Sciences

Author(s)

Yun, Hye-Jung

Year Published

2015

Volume Number

9531

Publisher

Florida State University

Reference ID

9028