FAMILIES AND DELINQUENCY: THE INTERACTION BETWEEN COHESION AND ADAPTABILITY

ABSTRACT

Borrowing from the family studies literature, two major elements of family relationships, cohesion - a measure of attachment - and adaptability - a measure of how well families respond to daily living - are examined for their relationship to delinquency. The results indicate that while cohesion is the primary variable for delinquency, interactions between cohesion and three components of adaptability; discipline, rules and task, and leadership indicate that at high levels of cohesion, family leadership is also related to delinquency.