Parental Support, Delinquent Friends, and Delinquency: A Test of Interaction Effects

A central focus of control theories of delinquency is the relationship between a youngster's attachment to his parents and his delinquent involvement. Of particular interest is the notion of sensitivity to parents' wishes or opinions. Simply, the greater the sensitivity, the more likely the child is to consider the wishes and opinions of his parents when contemplating a deviant act. Consequently, major developments of these theories have explored the significance of family relationships in generating a bond to society or stake in conformity. ' These theories assume that delinquent behavior results when an individual's bond to society is weak or broken. Thus, lack of family support is viewed as conducive to delinquency. This weak or broken bond ostensibly minimizes one's sensitivity to the opinions or expectations (i.e., norms) of others, freeing the individual to deviate.2 Conversely, the presence of control via parental support is seen as inhibiting delinquency. According to many theorists and researchers,3 a significant effect of a weak bond to parents is the enhanced importance of delinquent friends. Hirschi,4 for example, reported that boys with a low stake in conformity were more susceptible to delinquent peer influences, while boys with a high stake in conformity were relatively immune to these influences. In other words, the greater the stake in conformity, the less the impact of delinquent companions. Stanfield5 presented data consistent with this interaction hypothesis. He found that frequent peer activity was more strongly associated with delinquent behavior among those boys whose fathers' discipline was erratic or low than where it was consistent. Stanfield suggested that lack of consistent or supportive discipline (i.e., control) made boys more vulnerable to the influence of delinquent friends.6 Although both Hirschi and Stanfield demonstrated that family relationships condition the impact of delinquent friends, recent efforts to test propositions derived from control theory have neglected this interaction hypothesis.7 For example, Hepburn8 attempted to assess the empirical consistency of a control theory model of delinquency based upon Hirschi's formulation of the causal structure of the relationships between parental support, delinquent associates, delinquent definitions, and delinquent behavior. However, he failed to incorporate Hirschi's qualifying condition that the effect of delinquent peers on delinquency is contingent upon the level of family support.9 Such an * Assistant Professor of Sociology at Western Carolina University. Professor Poole received his Ph.D. in Sociology at Washington State University (1976). ** Assistant Professor of Sociology at Texas Christian University. Professor Regoli received his Ph.D. in Sociology at Washington State University (1975). 1 See T. HIRSCHI, CAUSES OF DELINQUENCY (1969); F. NYE, FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR (1958); Toby, The Differential Impact of Family Disorganization, 22 AM. Soc. REv. 505 (1957). 2 Hirschi contends that the essence of internalization of norms lies not in one's "conscience" but in the bond of the individual to others. T. HIRSCHI, supra note 1, at 1819.