The Roles of Family Environment, Parental Rearing Styles and Personality Traits in the Development of Delinquency in Chinese Youth

Background: Youth delinquency is a major public health problem worldwide. The family environment, parental rearing styles, and personality traits have been demonstrated to be important factors in juvenile delinquency. This study investigated the family environment, parental rearing styles, and personality traits in Chinese juvenile offenders. Methods: A total of 290 juvenile offenders and 188 juvenile controls, who had no delinquency record, between 12 and 25 years of age completed: a Family Environment Scale-Chinese Version (FES-CV), a Family Upbringing Styles questionnaire (FUSQ), a Big Five-factor Inventory (FFI-R), and, a Barrett Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Results: Cohesion, expressiveness, and active-recreational orientation scores were significantly higher, and conflict, achievement orientation, and moral-religious emphasis scores were significantly lower in offenders than in controls (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.001). Scores along all 10 FUSQ dimensions were significantly lower in offenders than that in controls (p < 0.001). Openness and agreeableness scores were significantly lower, while impulsivity scores were significantly higher in offenders than that in controls (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Family environments, parental rearing styles, and personality traits affected the development of young delinquency