Research Findings

Does Living in a Stepfamily Increase the Risk of Delinquency in Children?

Kay Pasley*

Most scholars who study stepfamilies have shown great interest in finding out how growing up in these families affects children. In fact, over several decades of research on stepfamilies, the most prominent research topics focus on children. While the research literature on stepfamilies continues to expand, the interest of scholars in studying the effects of these family experiences on children has not diminished.

From this body of literature, findings show that children's behavior and development is affected by the type of family in which they reside. Overwhelmingly, the results suggest that children who live in a single-parent or stepparent family are at greater risk for a range of negative outcomes, including higher rates of juvenile delinquency. We know that these negative outcomes have to do with a number of things, like the nature of the parent-child relationships (or the stepparent-stepchild relationships), how parents supervise and monitor their children's behavior, and influential factors in the broader context, such as the quality of their peer relationships and their economic situation. However, other scholars suggest that in some instances the remarriage of one's parents may serve a protective function, in part because it improves children's economic condition. We also know that preadolescent children, compared with either younger or older children, are especially vulnerable to negative outcomes when changes in their life occur like parental remarriage.

To date little research exits to help us understand exactly how early family experiences affect children. We need to be able to determine which children are and are not at risk for poor outcomes. Also, understanding how certain family experiences may promote negative child behaviors can help professionals develop appropriate prevention and intervention strategies that foster children's adjustment.

A recent study by Chris Couglin and Samuel Vuchinich published in the Journal of Marriage and the Family offers us some insights here. They studied the family experiences of 194 male children at age 10 to predict their later involvement in delinquent acts (police arrests) at age 17. Specifically, they examined how parent-child relations, parenting practices, family structure, peer relationships, family problem-solving, child's intelligence, and socioeconomic factors influence the risk of juvenile delinquency. Previous studies had shown two common pathways through which children come to be involved in delinquency. One path is through early involvement in antisocial behaviors that then continue into adulthood, and one's family experiences are believed to be of primary importance here. The second path is through engaging in deviant behaviors around age 14 that dissipate by adulthood. In this pattern, one's peers are more influential than is one's family.

Findings from their study showed that being in a stepfamily, rather than residing with both biological parents, more than doubled the risk of juvenile delinquent behavior. This was not surprising given the findings in earlier studies. However, when they looked more carefully to determine what protected children from delinquency, the picture became more complex. For example, their results showed that having good peer relations at age 10 (rather than being rejected by one's peers) was a protective factor against police arrest (the measure of delinquent behavior) at age 17 for boys in all types of families (two-parent, biological; stepfamily; single-parent family). Unique to boys in stepfamilies was the protective effect of the family's ability to solve problems, which reduced the odds of arrest by about half. Importantly, family problem-solving did not protect children in either single-parent families or two-parent, biofamilies from these negative outcomes. In fact, for boys in single- parent families, problem-solving increased their risk for delinquency because of the over-emotional involvement between mothers and sons that was common in these families. Their findings also confirmed characteristics, including the structure of the family, exerted the greatest effect on the early onset of delinquency rather than affecting delinquency initiated after age 14.

These findings have several implications for professionals working with stepfamilies in reducing the risk of children's engagement in delinquent behaviors. First, all else being equal, all young males regardless of their family structures need assistance in developing and maintaining positive relationships with their peers. For boys in stepfamilies who have yet to reach adolescence, prevention and intervention strategies need to be directed toward developing problem-solving skills. In this way, the quality of the stepparent- stepchild relationship is likely enhanced as is the child's ability to make better choices about whether to engage in certain behaviors.

* Kay Pasley is the Chair of the SAA Research Committee, and is on the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.