Humphrey Branna, Edwards Bradley D, Pealer Jennifer
University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.
East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA.
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2025 Feb;69(2-3):170-183. doi: 10.1177/0306624X221132998. Epub 2022 Oct 31.
Previous research has established that juveniles who experience negative parental influence are more likely to engage in problem and offending behavior. Less attention has been given to the possibility that criminal thinking styles might partially explain this relationship. This study examined the negative parental influences and criminal thinking styles of 1,354 juvenile offenders to establish that both negative parental influences and criminal thinking are significantly associated with juvenile problem and offending behavior. Further, the analysis showed that juvenile criminal thinking (proactive, reactive, and general) might mediate the relationship between negative parental influences and problem behavior. Implications for such findings are discussed.
