engleski

Analysis of the relationship between family structure, parental child-rearing practices and adolescents' deviant behaviour

The aim of this study was to examine the role of parental child-rearing practices as indicators of family relations and various sociodemographic characteristics as indicators of family structure for adolescents' deviant behaviour. The research was carried out on a representative sample of 2, 823 Croatian high school students. The participants completed scales that measured their perception of parental support, parental monitoring and joint decision-making as well as deviant and antisocial behaviour self-report scales. Sociodemographic variables included adolescents' gender and age, family structure, father's and mother's education and employment status, and subjective evaluations of the economic status of the family. Multiple regression analysis were conducted with social deviations and various forms of antisocial behaviour (deviance, vandalism, theft, violent thefts, violence, social pathology, deviant behaviour in general) as criterions and sociodemographic variables and father's and mother's child-rearing practices as predictors. The results suggest that higher maternal monitoring of their sons' and daughters' behavior is the most important protective factor against the appearance of various forms of social deviations and antisocial behaviours. Parental support is also a significant protective factor against adolescents' deviant behaviour. A mother's and father's support are significant predictors of girls' less frequent engagement in deviant behaviours while among the boys' sample only father's support is a significant protective factor against deviant behaviour. On the other hand, more joint decision-making with parents can, to a certain extent, be a risk factor for appearance of certain forms of social deviations and antisocial behaviour. In general, family relations are better predictors of these forms of adolescents' behaviour than is family structure.

antisocial behavior; deviant behavior; parental child rearing practices; family structure; adolescence

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