DO PARENTS MATTER IN CREATING SELF‐CONTROL IN THEIR CHILDREN? A GENETICALLY INFORMED TEST OF GOTTFREDSON AND HIRSCHI'S THEORY OF LOW SELF‐CONTROL*

Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime (1990) has generated an abundance of research testing the proposition that low self‐control is the main cause of crime and analogous behaviors. Less empirical work, however, has examined the factors that give rise to low self‐control. Gottfredson and Hirschi suggest that parents are the sole contributors for either fostering or thwarting low self‐control in their children, explicitly discounting the possibility that genetics may play a key role. Yet genetic research has shown that ADHD and other deficits in the frontostriatal system are highly heritable. Our research thus tests whether “parents matter” in creating low self‐control once genetic influences are taken into account. Using a sample of twin children we find that parenting measures have a weak and inconsistent effect. We address the conceptual and methodological issues associated with the failure to address genetic influences in parenting studies.     

The Legal Position of the Married and Unmarried Father Under English and Dutch Law: Sharing Parenting or Just Going Dutch?

This article addresses the issue of the legal position of the married and unmarried father under English and Dutch law. The legal position under English Law in the UK for the married and unmarried father may be familiar to English family lawyers. The situation for unmarried fathers can be seen as more 'precarious' and less legally secure than that of the married father in terms of the legal recognition of fatherhood and the exercise of parental responsibility. Fathers who are not married to the mothers of their children are not recognised as 'fathers' in law in the same way as the married father. They will possess the automatic parental responsibility that the married father has, as a result of the implementation of new legislation which acts as a 'gateway' to the effective exercise, in legal terms, of 'fathering' activities. Whilst there have been some reforms, this are set in the context of problems and difficulties in regulating unmarried relationships in general. There is disparity in legal treatment between the married and the unmarried relationship, fatherhood in particular, but this distinction shows signs of diminishing, as it has done under Dutch law. In The Netherlands, as in a lot of other European countries, family law has been subject to continual law reforms, as a consequence of social developments. Also decisions of the European Court of Human Rights have forced the Dutch government to adapt legislation. Due to the equality principle, many benefits of marriage are now also granted to unmarried people. Since the extended law reform in 1998 the terms 'legitimate' and 'illegitimate' child – for children born inside and outside of marriage – no longer exist. Instead the term 'family ties' was introduced. This article will discuss the major issues which concern the legal position of the married and the unmarried father under English and Dutch law.     

90后子代与亲代间的反向社会化研究——以互联网的运用为例

在以互联网发展为标志的时代背景下,亲子社会化问题呈现出亲代向子代传授知识和技能的正向社会化方式和子代向亲代传授知识和技能的反向社会化方式共存的现象,表现为个体社会化的多重方向.通过研究发现,这种反向社会化多表现为表层的反向社会化,即以休闲娱乐为主的非互动式的互联网使用,而亲代与子代对互联网的态度、家庭教养方式,以及子代给予亲代的反馈会影响反向社会化的发生及演变.     

Preventing juvenile sexual offending through parental monitoring: a comparison study of youth’s experiences of supervision

ABSTRACT

The parental monitoring literature has long observed a link between parental monitoring and juvenile antisocial behaviour. This study extends this line of research to juveniles who commit sexual abuse. The present study investigates whether juvenile reports of parental monitoring differ between juvenile sexual offenders (n?=?338), juvenile delinquents (n?=?346), and non-incarcerated juvenile controls (n?=?256). Results indicate that both incarcerated groups reported significantly less parental knowledge compared to juvenile controls. Further, both juvenile sexual offenders and juvenile controls reported significantly more parental control compared to juvenile delinquents. With regard to parental solicitation, the results were mixed for sexual offenders. They reported high levels of solicitation for some items (e.g. what the youth was doing, who they were with), and lower levels for other items (e.g. where the youth was, whether an adult would be present). When repeating these analyses with the exclusion of non-parent caregivers, a similar pattern of results emerged; however, item-level analyses revealed that parents of juvenile delinquents reported certain types of solicitation and control behaviours more frequently (e.g. asked where the youth was going, made sure the rules were followed) compared to findings from the main sample. Potential explanations for these findings as well as practical implications for prevention are discussed.     

亲权制度与监护制度关系的重新厘定

亲权制度是亲属法里面比较重要的制度，但目前我国的立法并没有对亲权制度给予相应的重视，而是利用监护制度予以笼统地概括，因此建立亲权制度就显得尤为必要。本文从制度发生学、国外的立法例以及我们社会当前和将来对监护制度的要求三个方面，从而阐述了应该建立亲权制度并将其与监护制度并列的观点。     

The effect of maternal incarceration on adult offspring involvement in the criminal justice system

Researchers have estimated that 63 percent of incarcerated women have one or more minor children and most reported living with their children prior to incarceration (Mumola, 2000). Unfortunately, children of incarcerated parents have been a relatively invisible population in the research on the collateral consequences of incarceration. The goal of the current study was to examine the long-term effect of maternal incarceration on adult offspring involvement in the criminal justice system using data from the mother child sample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Based on existing research, it was hypothesized that the adult offspring of incarcerated mothers would be more likely to have been convicted of a crime or to be sentenced to probation. The effect of maternal incarceration on correlates of criminal behavior in adolescence and early adulthood (e.g., negative peer influences, positive home environment) was also modeled to assess possible indirect effects. The results highlighted the direct effect of incarceration on adult offspring involvement in the criminal justice system, but parental incarceration had little association with correlates of criminal behavior.     

亲权、法定监护、法定代理之界定

亲权作为身份权的一种,是父母基于身份关系对未成年子女所生之权利,原则上不得由他人代为行使,但日本民法第833条和第867条则有例外规定,即父母均为禁治产人时,其亲权应由父母的法定代理人代为行使。法定监护是监护的一种,它归于民事主体制度,是指根据法律的直接规定而进行的监督、保护等民事活动。立法例上,一些国家既规定亲权又规定监护,而另一些国家只规定监护。法定代理是基于法律的直接规定而进行的代理,它兼具民事主体与民事法律行为双重内涵,是各国法律均予规范的内容。民法理论上,亲权、法定监护和法定代理三者之间在诸多方面存在着牵连与叠合,同时又具有严格的界限和适用范围,它们对民事法律制度的协调与完善起着互补作用,是民事法律制度不可或缺的重要组成部分。     

Freedom in the German School System

This article describes `freedom' as a constitutional category in the German School Law. If the responsibility for schooling by the German Federal Constitution is given to the ``Bundesländer' a common frame is set by the Basic Rights of the German Federal Constitution; this constitutional frame limits the rights of the ``Bundesländer' in supervising, organising, planning and managing the schools. Basic rights of a single pupil in a school are limited by the same rights of other pupils; this is done by following the ``principle of practical concordance' and thus the freedom of the single pupil always becomes a relative one; how this principle works in a concrete conflict will be shown in this article by describing single cases. Parental Rights are also guaranteed by the German Federal Constitution in direction of the state-runned schools. The rights of the parents are equal to the state rights; so a solution of a conflict has to be found between these two actors. Rights of teachers in Germany are limited by their special status as civil servants. And if the pedagogical freedom of teachers is recognised by the school acts this does not describe a real kind of freedom for the single teacher.     

Withdrawal of Parental Responsibility: Lost Authority and a Lost Opportunity

This comment examines Re D (Withdrawal of Parental Responsibility), the first reported Court of Appeal decision on withdrawal of parental responsibility pursuant to section 4(2A) of the Children Act 1989. It demonstrates that the Court overlooked earlier Court of Appeal authority, resulting in tension in the Court's guidance. The comment criticises the Court of Appeal's characterisation of parental responsibility as entirely child‐centred and its uncritical acceptance that the child's welfare is the paramount consideration in applications for withdrawal of parental responsibility. It argues that such an approach may not adequately respect the parent's interests in retaining parental responsibility, especially in the context of an order which is more draconian in effect than a care order. The impact upon applications for removal of parental responsibility of the new presumption of parental involvement, which was implemented shortly after the decision in Re D, is also considered.