‘I Blame the Parents’: Analysing Popular Support for the Deficient Household Social Capital Transmission Thesis

Abstract

This article explores belief in parental deficiency as a causal factor of youth anti‐social behaviour and crime. Empirical interrogation of household interview data from a UK city considers whether there is widespread support for blaming parents. Somewhat surprisingly, lower‐income households and those containing young people, are found to be more likely to consider parental responsibility a problem. Most notably, a tendency to blame the parents strongly associates with a perception that people in the area do not treat each other with respect.

Keywords: parental responsibility, anti‐social behaviour (ASB), blame, youth offending, juvenile delinquency