Crime and parenthood: Age and gender differences in the association between criminal careers and parenthood

Criminal careers and demographic outcomes: An introduction to the special issue

“…The same effect for men is confirmed by Besemer, Farrington and Theobald (2016) in their study on the UK. Huschek and Blokland (2015) also find that all types of crime frequency are associated with an earlier transition to parenthood, but that this effect is stronger for the most criminally active men. The study of Schoon and Mullin (2016) focuses on the influence of crime on teenage parenthood in the UK and finds that, for men, all types of criminal involvement (adolescent limited, persistent and late onset) increase the risk of teen parenthood, whereas for women only persistent crime predicts this outcome.…”

“…In their UK study of men, Besemer, Farrington and Theobald (2016) find that own engagement in crime increases the risk of entry into a shotgun marriage. Huschek and Blokland (2015) show that for Dutch men, crime leads to a faster transition into out-of-wedlock parenthood, but has no effect on childbearing within marriage. However, their study also reveals that a high frequency involvement in property, violent and drug related offenses for men leads to an earlier transition to parenthood within marriage, whereas for women only a high frequency involvement in violent crime speeds up the entry into parenthood.…”

“…The study of Bijleveld, Liefbroer and Huschek (2016), conducted in the Netherlands on a high-risk sample, finds no effect of juvenile offending on parenthood. However, a different study on the Netherlands (Huschek and Blokland 2015), conducted on a convicted sample (a sample of more serious offenders compared to the other high-risk sample in the Netherlands), shows that high frequency involvement in crime in adolescence and early adulthood leads to an earlier entry into parenthood. Whereas the effects of juvenile offending on the transition to parenthood are consistent across genders, effects of adult crime seem to differ between men and women.…”

Adolescent Delinquency and Family Conflict as Precursors of Romantic Relationships in Early Adulthood

“…This conclusion is corroborated with recent findings from the Rochester Youth Development Study (Thornberry, Krohn, Augustyn, Buchanan, & Greenman, 2016) indicating that mainly early adolescent involvement in delinquency, drug use, and sexual behavior at an early age reduces the likelihood of both cohabitation and marriage, especially for males. There is also evidence that criminal behavior reduces an individual's chance of getting married (van Schellen, Poortman, & Nieuwbeerta, 2011) and affects the timing of parenthood (Huschek & Blokland, 2016).…”

“…Theirs and others' research shows that transitions in the life-course, such as marriage, divorce, or becoming a parent, are likely to have an effect on the criminal development of individuals (Blokland & Nieuwbeerta, 2010). Far less research attention has been paid to the extent to which criminal behavior may likewise affect these life-course transitions, such as the ability to engage in healthy romantic relationships (Huschek & Blokland, 2016). From a life-course perspective, however, continuity of criminal or antisocial behavior of individuals over the life-course is more likely when different life-domains (e.g., family conflict and delinquency) negatively reinforce each other (Thornberry, 2014;Thornberry et al, 2016).…”