The Effects of Differential Parenting on Sibling Differences in Self-Control and Delinquency Among Brother–Sister Pairs

Abstract

Gottfredson and Hirschi acknowledge that there are sex differences in levels of self-control, with males exhibiting lower levels of self-control compared to females. There remains a gap in the empirical literature, however, as to whether differential parental treatment can explain differences in levels of self-control across the sexes. Using siblings of opposite sex from the Add Health study ( N = 356, brother–sister pairs) and following a within-family research design, the current study examines whether differences in parenting behaviors within the home are associated with sex differences in self-control between siblings and whether these differences in self-control explained sex differences in delinquency. The results revealed that differential maternal attachment and differential maternal rejection were significantly related to sex differences in self-control. Sex differences in self-control, in turn, were significantly associated with sex differences in delinquency. The findings also showed that sex differences in self-control mediated the association between differential maternal rejection and delinquency, but that differential maternal attachment was indirectly associated with higher levels of delinquency for boys via lower levels of self-control. The impact of nonshared environmental factors on behavioral differences in opposite-sex siblings within the home is discussed.