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Parental divorce and the intergenerational transmission of crime

This study first examines the effects of parental divorce and paternal crime on offspring offending. Then it tests whether parental divorce moderates the intergenerational transmission of crime. Heterogeneity within the offending population is also taken into account by examining whether these effects are different for fathers who commit crimes at different moments over the life-course and by distinguishing between violent and non-violent offending. A sample of 2,374 individuals from three consecutive generations from 198 Dutch families was used. Results show that parental divorce increases offspring non-violent offending, but does not increase offspring violence after controlling for parental violence. Moreover, the intergenerational transmission of violent crime is moderated by parental divorce: empirical evidence for intergenerational transmission of violent crime is only found for children who did not experience parental divorce during their youth. This moderating effect of parental divorce is even stronger if the father committed his violent crimes during the child’s youth. The moderating influence of parental divorce on the intergenerational transmission of non-violent crime is less clear, and effects are overall stronger for violent crime than for non-violent crime. These results suggest that social learning mechanisms play an important role in the intergenerational transmission of violent crime, although genetic influences cannot be ruled out.