Author Description

Parenting practices have been shown to be very important in determining whether a young person becomes involved in delinquent or criminal activity. The more interest a parent shows in a child, the more a parent gets involved with a child, the more a parent supervises a child, and the more warmth and affection a parent shows a child, the less likely the child is to become involved in delinquency. These findings suggest that it may be possible to reduce the number of juveniles who become involved in delinquency by developing strategies which address neglectful parenting. In order to do this though, it is helpful to know what factors give rise to neglectful parenting. The aim of this bulletin is to review the available evidence on this issue. The discussion proceeds in three parts. The first part examines some of the important methodological issues which affect the interpretation of research studies in this area. In the second part, research evidence bearing on the relationship between neglectful parenting and juvenile involvement in crime is briefly reviewed. In the third part, findings from recent research studies which have examined risk factors for neglectful parenting and child neglect are reviewed.