During the past ten years, the growth of single-parent female-headed households has proliferated. A wide array of the research literature of the last decade has refocused attention on the role of the family in explaining juvenile delinquency. Within these assessments there is much conjecture that African-American female-headed households, particularly those receiving welfare assistance, provide ideal conditions for the development of juvenile delinquency or chronic maladaptive behavior among their progeny. Therefore, much of the family and delinquency literature concerning the African-American female-headed families is centered around the "feminization of poverty", a concept resulting from Moynihan's (1965) study of the black family. The renewed research interest in family relationships and the impact of family structure and functioning upon family life has cast too little attention on the question of whether the interpersonal interaction of the parent with the child contributes to or deters juvenile chronic maladaptive behavior in African-American female-headed households. This study provides empirical data which attempts to more accurately distinguish those interpersonal interaction (bonding) attributes which are associated with juvenile chronic maladaptive behavior in African-American female-headed households. / The current family interaction and delinquency literature, which includes the study of single-parent homes and parent-child relationships, reveals a minimum interest in family life components, such as "natural" support systems, child supervision, parental affection, parent-child leisure activity, the issue of trust, and other components. / Social control theory was the guiding framework for deriving the measures of interpersonal interactions of parent with child, and for empirically testing the relationship of the interaction measures and of the "natural" support systems of African-American female-heads of household to juvenile chronic maladaptive behavior. The empirical analyses bearing on this research question use secondary data compiled from intake, progress, and disposition forms of 140 juveniles from the Early Attention Program of the Children's Aid Society in Detroit, Michigan. The juveniles were referred to the agency between 1984 and 1987. / The bivariate analyses indicate that several statistically significant relationships exist between interpersonal bonding variables and the maladaptive behavior of juveniles. The prominent interpersonal bonding factors were that parents contacted the agency willingly to deal with their children's problem, they were consistent in disciplining their children, and they prepared and shared meals with their child. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-03, Section: A, page: 0796. / Major Professor: C. Ray Jeffery. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77974 |
| Contributors | Taylor, Dorothy Lee., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 250 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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