Premium
PARENTS' AND CHILDREN'S PERCEPTIONS OF FAMILY PROCESSES IN INNER‐CITY FAMILIES WITH DELINQUENT YOUTHS: A QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION
Author(s) -
MaddenDerdich Debra A.,
Leonard Stacie A.,
Gunnell Gordon A.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2002.tb01192.x
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , perception , psychological intervention , qualitative research , social psychology , sociology , social science , neuroscience , psychiatry
This study explored youths' and parents' perceptions of family interaction processes as well as the broader social and cultural factors that influence family functioning in a multiethnic sample of inner‐city families with delinquent youth. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 61 male youths and 33 parents predominatly from minority families. Guided by an ecological framework, qualitative data analyses were employed to explore individual and contextual factors that were perceived either to foster or to impede individual and family functioning. Findings supported previous empirical research highlighting the importance of family interaction processes in the lives of delinquent youths. Analysis of parent and youth data revealed important relationships among the individual, family, and community domains. The emphases placed on these interrelationships, however, varied in distinct and notable ways for parents and youths. The implications of these divergent patterns for family‐level interventions are addressed.