What About the Parental Response?: The Effect of Delinquency and Anger on Parental Monitoring

Parental monitoring is a set of correlated parenting behaviors involving attention to and tracking of the child’s whereabouts, activities, and adaptations. The impact of parental monitoring is ubiquitous and has broad relevance for youth outcomes. Similarly, although less commonly investigated, youth behaviors can impact parents’ or caregivers’ responses or behaviors. Longitudinal analysis was used to assess the gendered effects of youth behaviors—defined as internalized anger, externalized anger, and delinquency—on parent behaviors (i.e., parental monitoring). Results showed that adolescent’s levels of internalized anger, externalized anger, and delinquency were predictive of parental monitoring. Specifically, as the adolescents aged, parental monitoring decreased and parental monitoring was differentiated based on gender. Results and implications for the parent–child relationship are discussed.

Who Will Become Productive Adults? Longitudinal Patterns of Gainful Activities Among Serious Adolescent Offenders

The juvenile justice system is charged with the welfare of the children it serves, yet less is known about the prosocial behaviors of adolescent youthful offenders. This study identifies patterns of prosocial behavior for 7 years among serious adolescent offenders, the correlates of each pattern, and associated patterns of secure placement. Using 7 years of monthly data from the Pathways to Desistance Study ( N = 1,354), we used group-based trajectory models to identify longitudinal patterns of positive youth behaviors related to school and work among serious adolescent offenders and a joint trajectory model to assess the relationship between trajectories of institutional placement and positive youth behaviors. Four groups were identified that demonstrated a high, low, medium, and dips-then-rises likelihood of gainful activities throughout the study period. Gainful activities were negatively associated with risk for delinquency across multiple domains. Juvenile justice interventions should consider prosocial promise in addition to risk for delinquency.