WHY IS “BAD ” PARENTING CRIMINOGENIC? A TEST OF RIVAL THEORIES*

Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) claim that “bad ” or ineffective parenting produces criminal behavior by fostering low self-control. Alternatively, differential association/social learning theorists contend that bad parenting produces criminogenic learning, including the internalization of aggressive attitudes. The current research tests these two rival theories and their competing accounts of “why bad parenting matters” with data from a sample of middle school students. The analysis revealed that several dimensions of parenting (including monitoring/caring, harsh parenting, inconsistent punishment, and the negative reinforcement of aggressive behavior) affected both low self-control and aggressive attitudes. Furthermore, both low self-control and aggressive attitudes predicted delinquent involvement and were found to partially mediate the effect of parenting measures on delinquency. Self-control and attitudes were also found to be interrelated and to have a significant interaction effect. Taken together, these findings suggest that these two rival theories may have identified not only important links between parenting and delinquency but also criminogenic risk factors that are often found in the same individuals