Juvenile Offenders as Fathers: Perceptions of Fatherhood, Crime, and Becoming an Adult

Current research offers conflicting findings regarding how, or if, fatherhood influences youth offenders’ criminal trajectories. Through repeated qualitative interviews with seven incarcerated teen fathers, this study provides insight into these young fathers’ understandings of their responsibilitie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFamilies in society Vol. 88; no. 2; pp. 183 - 191
Main Authors Shannon, Sarah K. S., Abrams, Laura S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.04.2007
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Adolescent fathers
Children
Crime
Criminal attempt
Fatherhood
Fathers
Juvenile Offenders
Mothers
Parent Child Relations
Parental participation
Parental responsibility
Parenthood
Parents & parenting
Prisoners
Professional practice
Prospects
Recidivism
Role models
Social work
Teenage parents
Working mothers
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Summary:Current research offers conflicting findings regarding how, or if, fatherhood influences youth offenders’ criminal trajectories. Through repeated qualitative interviews with seven incarcerated teen fathers, this study provides insight into these young fathers’ understandings of their responsibilities toward their children and prospects for future criminal activity. Analysis reveals that these young fathers take their parental roles very seriously and identify their children as the principal motivator for desistance from crime. They also articulate substantial obstacles to achieving their paternal ideals, including financial pressure, strained relationships with their children's mothers, and lack of male role models. Implications for social work practice are provided.
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ISSN:1044-3894
1945-1350
DOI:10.1606/1044-3894.3616