Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wg55d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-02T21:49:59.378Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The relationship between maternal attributes in the early life of the child and the child's future criminal behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Håkan Stattin  and
Ingrid Klackenberg-Larsson
Håkan Stattin*
Affiliation:
University of Stockholm
Ingrid Klackenberg-Larsson
Affiliation:
Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm
*
Address correspondence to: Håkan Stattin, Department of Psychology, University of Stockholm, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The relationship of various personality and behavior describing characteristics of the mother in earliest childhood (ages 1–3) and in later childhood (ages 6–8) to the child's registered criminality up to the age of 30 was investigated for a sample of 122 males. Maternal attributes were rated by psychologists and nurses. Canonical correlations, measuring the relationship between the set of maternal attributes in young age of the child and the future registered criminality of the subjects, were in the magnitudes of .40 to .50. Both in early and in later childhood, mother's mood and her perceived maturity were attributes that, controlled for socioeconomic status of the home and mother's age, were significantly related to the child's future criminal behavior. In addition, mother's affective attitude in later childhood was significantly related to registered crime among the subjects. The change in prognostic power of maternal attributes from early to later childhood was discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , April 1990 , pp. 99 - 111
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, K. E., Lytton, H., & Romney, D. M. (1986). Mothers' interactions with normal and conduct-disordered boys: Who affects whom? Developmental Psychology, 22, 604–609.Google Scholar
Andersson, M., Jonsson, G., & Kälvesten, A.-L. (1976). Hur går det för 50-talets Stockholmspo-jkar? [What happened to the 1950's Stockholm boys?] Stockholms kommunalförvaltning, Nr 38. (summary in English)Google Scholar
Bell, R. Q. (1968). A reinterpretation of the direction of effects in studies of socialization. Psychological Review, 75, 81–95.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Borduin, C. M., Henggeler, S. W., Pruitt, J. A. (1984). The relationship between juvenile delinquency and personality dimensions of family members. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 146, 563–565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, S. B., Breaux, A. M., Ewing, L. J., & Szu-mowski, E. K. (1986). Correlates and predictors of hyperactivity and aggression: A longitudinal study of parent-referred problem preschoolers. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 14, 217–234.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1989). Developmental psychopathology: Some thoughts on its evolution. Development and Psychopathology, 1, 1–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisenberg, J. G., Langner, T. S., & Gersten, J. C. (1975). Differences in the behavior of welfare and non-welfare children in relation to parental characteristics. Journal of Community Psychology, 3, 311–340.Google Scholar
Elder, G. H. Jr., Caspi, A., & Downey, G. (1986). Problem behavior and family relationships: Life course and intergenerational themes. In Sorensen, A., Weinert, F., & Sherrod, L. (Eds.), Human development and the life course: Multidisciplinary perspectives (pp. 293–340). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P. (1979). The family backgrounds of aggressive youths. In Hersov, L. A., Berger, M., & Shaffer, D. (Eds.), Aggression and antisocial behaviour in childhood and adolescence (pp. 73–93). Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Glueck, S., & Glueck, E. T. (1950). Unraveling juvenile delinquency. New York: The Commonwealth Fund.Google Scholar
Graffar, M. (1956). Une méthode de classification sociale d'échantillons de populations. Courier, 6, 8.Google Scholar
Harbin, H. T., & Madden, D. J. (1983). Assaultive adolescents: Family decision-making parameters. Family Process, 22, 109–118.Google Scholar
Henggeler, S. W., Hanson, C. L., Borduin, C. M., Watson, S. M., & Brunk, M. A. (1985). Mother-son relationships of juvenile felons. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 942–943.Google Scholar
Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Huesmann, L. R., Eron, L. D., Lefkowitz, M. M., & Walder, L. O. (1984). Stability of aggression over time and generations. Developmental Psychology, 20, 1120–1134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janson, C.-G. (1982). Delinquency among metropolitan boys. Project Metropolitan, Department of Sociology, University of Stockholm. Research Report No. 17.Google Scholar
Johnson, R. E. (1987). Mother's versus father's role in causing delinquency. Adolescence, 22, 305–315.Google Scholar
Jonsson, G. (1967). Delinquent boys, their parents and grandparents. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Suppl. 195.Google Scholar
Kagan, J., & Moss, H. A. (1962). Birth to maturity. A study on psychological development. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Karlberg, P., Klackenberg, G., Engström, I., Klacken-berg-Larsson, I., Lichtenstein, H., Stensson, J., & Svennberg, I. (1968). The development of children in a Swedish urban community. A prospective longitudinal study. Acta Pædiatrica Scandinavica, Suppl. 187.Google Scholar
Karlberg, P., Taranger, J., Engström, I., Lichtenstein, H., & Svennberg-Redegren, I. (1976). The somatic development of children in a Swedish urban community. Acta Pædiatrica Scandinavica, Suppl. 258.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E., & Kolko, D. J. (1986). Parent psycho-pathology and family functioning among childhood firesetters. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 14, 315–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kolvin, I., Miller, J. W., Fleeting, M., & Kolvin, P. A. (1988). Social and parenting factors affecting criminal-offence rates. Findings from the Newcastle Thousand Family Study (1947–1980). British Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 80–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lobitz, G. K., & Johnson, S. M. (1975). Normal versus deviant children. A multimethod comparison. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 3, 353–374.Google Scholar
Loeber, R., & Dishion, T. (1983). Early predictors of male delinquency: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 94, 68–99.Google Scholar
Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1986). Family factors as correlates and predictors of juvenile conduct problems and delinquency. In Tonry, M. & Morris, N. (Eds.), Crime and justice: An annual review of research (Vol. 7, pp. 29–149). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
MacEvoy, B., Lambert, W. W., Karlberg, P., Karlberg, J., Klackenberg-Larsson, I., & Klackenberg, G. (1988). Early affective antecedents of adult type A behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 108–116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCord, J. (1979). Some child-rearing antecedents of criminal behavior in adult men. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1477–1486.Google Scholar
McCord, J. (1982). A longitudinal view of the relationship between parental absence and crime. In Gunn, J. & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.), Abnormal offenders, delinquency, and the criminal justice system (pp. 113–128). London: Wiley.Google Scholar
McCord, J. (1983). A forty year perspective on effects of child abuse and neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect, 7, 265–270.Google Scholar
McCord, W., & McCord, J. (1959). Origins of crime: A new evaluation of the Cambridge-Somerville study. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Morris, H. H., Escoll, P. J., & Wexler, R. (1956). Aggressive behavior disorders of childhood: A follow-up study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 112, 991–997.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moskowitz, D. S., & Schwarz, J. C. (1982). Validity comparison of behavior counts and ratings by knowledgeable informants. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 518–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nye, F. I. (1958). Family relationships and delinquent behavior. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Nystedt, L., Magnusson, D., & Aronowitsch, E. (1975). Generalization of ratings based on projective tests. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 16, 72–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olofsson, B. (1973). Unga lagövertrödare II. Hem, uppfostran, skola och kamratmiljö i belysning av intervju-och uppföljningsdata. [Young delinquents II. Home, management, school and peer environment in the light of interview and follow-up data] Statens Offentliga Utredningar 1973 (whole no. 25). (English summary)Google Scholar
Olweus, D. (1980). Familial and temperamental determinants of aggressive behavior in adolescent boys: A causal analysis. Developmental Psychology, 16, 644–660.Google Scholar
Patterson, G. R. (1976). The aggressive child: Victim and architect of a coercive system. In Mash, E. J., Hamerlynck, L. A., & Handy, L. C. (Eds.), Behavior modification and families (pp. 267–316). New York: Brunner/Mazel.Google Scholar
Patterson, G. R., DeBaryshe, B. D., & Ramsey, E. (1989). A developmental perspective on antisocial behavior. American Psychologist, 44, 329–335.Google Scholar
Pulkkinen, L. (1983). The search for alternatives to aggression. In Goldstein, A. P. & Segall, M. H. (Eds.), Aggression in global perspectives (pp. 104–144). New York: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Richman, N., Stevenson, J., & Graham, P. J. (1982). Pre-school to school: A behavioural study. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Robins, L. N. (1966). Deviant children grown up. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.Google Scholar
Sears, R. R., Maccoby, E. E., & Levin, H. (1957). Patterns of child rearing. Evanston, IL: Row Peterson.Google Scholar
StattinMagnusson, D. Magnusson, D., & Reichel, H. (1989). Criminal activity at different ages. A study based on a Swedish longitudinal research population. British Journal of Criminology, 29, 368–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wadsworth, M. (1979). Roots of delinquency. Infancy, adolescence and crime. Oxford: Martin Robertson.Google Scholar