Family Deviance, Parental Nurturance, Parental Education and Deviant Lifestyles: A Latent Moderated Indirect Effects Analysis

Structural constraints arising from the family environment have been highlighted as a key predictor of deviant lifestyles that expose youths to criminogenic circumstances. Intervening processes are not well-understood. This study examined (a) whether family deviance is associated with students’ deviant lifestyles, (b) whether this association is mediated by low parental nurturance, and (c) whether this indirect effect is moderated by low parental education. Cross-sectional data from 233 African American, Hispanic, White, Asian American, and multiracial 11th grade students were used. The student deviant lifestyles construct was assessed using three composite indicators (student delinquent behavior, perceived peer deviance, student substance use). Using structural equation modeling, a latent moderated indirect effects model showed excellent fit (e.g., CFI = 0.986, RMSEA = 0.047, SRMR = 0.027). Parental nurturance significantly mediated the relation of family deviance with student deviant lifestyles, but only for students whose parents have low levels of education. Our results support the utility of an integrative criminogenic framework that includes structural constraints arising from the family environment and showed that high parental education can serve as a buffer against the adverse indirect effects of family deviance on adolescents’ deviant lifestyles via low parental nurturance.