THE IMPACT OF FAMILY TRANSITION ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF DELINQUENCY IN ADOLESCENT BOYS - A 9-YEAR LONGITUDINAL-STUDY

The purpose of this study was to examine prospectively the impact of f amily transition on deviant development in a sample of 427 French-Cana dian boys participating in a longitudinal study from kindergarten onwa rds. During the course of the study some boys experienced family trans ition. We grouped the boys by developmental period and number of marit al transitions they experienced: divorced between ages 6 and 11; divor ced between ages 12 to 15; remarried between ages 6 and 11; and remarr ied between ages 12 and 15. From ages 11 to 15 we assessed boys' delin quency and their family processes (parental supervision, punishment, a nd communication) annually. The results suggest that boys who experien ced remarriage between ages 12 and 15 are at greater risk for delinque ncy. In particular, they showed evidence of comparatively more theft a nd fighting at earlier ages than their peers from families that had re mained intact. At similar points in development, they perceived less e xpressive parent-child relationships. Finally, these boys also perceiv ed less monitoring by their parents, both overall and at different poi nts in adolescence.