Abstract
Transgressive conduct and opposition towards the rules often characterize adolescence. During the development, antisocial and aggressive behavior could be a way to grow personally and to be independent. According to previous studies results, the family has a high impact on teens’ aggressive behaviors and moral disengagement. Our research involved 2328 Italian adolescents (13–19 years old) who have filled in the following questionnaires: deviant behavior questionnaire; aggression questionnaire; family communication scale; moral disengagement scale; the multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Our study investigated the role of family structure on deviance propensity through family climate and anger dysregulation joint influence. We conducted a mediation analysis to reach this goal using structural equation modeling (SEM). We have also conducted a multigroup analysis in order to evaluate gender differences in the SEM. Results showed that both family climate and anger dysregulation mediated the relationship between family structure and deviance propensity. The multigroup analysis revealed that the indirect relationship between variables through family climate is significant for both boys and girls (higher in females); variables indirect relationship through anger dysregulation was significant only for girls. These data could be useful for prevention and intervention programs on children–parent relationships and to reduce antisociality and teenager’s aggressive behavior.
Highlights
According to the disorganization theory by Shaw and McKay [77] disadvantageous and economically distressed neighborhoods with ineffective social control by family and community provided more opportunities for adolescents to be affiliated with violent and deviant peers. This lack of control has a stronger impact on females rather than on males because females are more guided by the family and more involved in conventional activities in their home, school, and community
When social control breaks down, females are more likely exposed to risky behaviors and crimes, as reported by data from the Project of Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) [78]
As the socioeconomic status of the family can be associated with the constructs included in the present study, we examined whether the SES index was correlated with the family structure and the empirical indicators used to define the latent variables in the model
Summary
Deviance concept is strongly associated with a specific historical period social and cultural norms; these norms belong to all people who play a role in the social context. From this point of view, the term “to divert” means breaking the social agreement and the established rules and norms [1]. De Leo and Patrizi [2] describe deviance as a social construct influenced by personal, environmental, and family. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 9257; doi:10.3390/ijerph17249257 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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