The Role of General Family Functioning in the Quality of the Mother-Daughter Relationship of Female African American Juvenile Offenders

Abstract

Little investigative knowledge exists with regard to the roles that adolescent-parent relationships play in the development of female juvenile delinquency among African Americans. In the current investigation, the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) and the Assessment of Interpersonal Relations were employed to examine 76 female African American juvenile offenders' perceptions of their existing family functioning characteristics and the quality of their relationships with their mothers. Results indicated that all of the family functioning constructs measured by the FAD, except communication, were positively related to the quality of the mother-daughter relationship as perceived by the daughter. However, when the perceived quality of the relationship was simultaneously regressed on each of the constructs measured by the FAD, only the simple effect of general family functioning appeared to contribute significantly to the quality of the relationship. Findings are discussed in light of the need to further explore delinquency in female African American adolescents and implications for interventions and prevention practices.