ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by presenting typologies of delinquency and causality before moving on to sections on the consequences it has on parents as well as on the adolescent-parent relationship. Because no direct research exists on the impact of delinquency on the family, it offers some suggestions for orienting the field in this direction. Official delinquency involves an arrest and therefore an awareness on the part of authorities that a minor has committed a crime. The etiological models not only differentiate between types of delinquency, but they implicate a multitude of causal variables. The relationship between family and delinquency is also affected by partly genetically influenced characteristics. Adult criminality may have a stronger genetic component because it involves a multiplicity of personality defects that persist over time and are genetically linked: low IQ, lack of impulse control, and inability to delay gratification.
