Parent – Adolescent Communication and Delinquency: A Comparative study in Kolkata, India.

Abstract

The present study assessed the impact of one of the dimension of parenting practices, that is, parent- adolescent communication and its influence on the development of delinquent behavior. The data was collected from 200 adolescents (100 delinquents and 100 non- delinquents) aged 11- 18 years. Results indicated that there exists a significant difference between delinquent and non- delinquent adolescents, in their perception of satisfactory parental communication. Further analyses revealed that both mother’s and father’s separate communication as well as their interaction effect was linked to the development of delinquent behavior. It was further noted that a satisfactory mother- adolescent communication was much more important compared to the father- adolescent communication in the present context. Furthermore, age of the adolescent was also related to delinquency and it was observed that early adolescence was a richer breeding ground of delinquency, although a satisfactory parental communication was crucial all throughout the adolescent period to serve as a protective factor against delinquency. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.