The Importance of Family Dinners

Family Dinners: The effect is has on our children Midterm Project Kaplan University Research Methods in Criminal Justice CJ490 Abstract _There are countless studies of teens in our society who commit violent crimes. This study will show having family meals opens the lines of communication between teens and their parents. Through this communication parents will increase the chances of their teen doing well in school and preventcrime and teen pregnancies. _ Family Dinners: The effect is has on our children Introduction One of many things that is lacking in today’s society is the quality time we are able to spend with our children. With children left to their own devices and with limited communication between parents and their children, they are more likely to turn to drugs and crime. According to May, Vartanian, and Virgo, “a key predictor of adolescent self concept and quality peer relationships” (Adolescence, 2002) comes from the bond that parents form with their teens. With the bonding that is involved in family dinners, adolescent children are more likely to talk to their parents about their problems and less likely to turn to drugs and alcohol to cope. Literature Review The first point of this study involves the correlation between family dinners and teen crime rates. According to the FBI’s supplementary homicide reports for 2005, “there were 1,067 murders committed by individuals between the ages of 12-17.” (Puzzanchera & Kang, 2008) This is more than a 50% reduction in homicides committed by teens in the past ten years. A survey conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that “the number of children ages 12 to 17 who said they ate dinner with their families at least five times a week, was at 58%.” (Foderaro, 2006) This is an eleven point increase over the past ten years. By having a family dinner, teens have an automatic curfew and they are not on the streets committing crimes. Another major point

References: May, D., Vartanian, L., & Virgo, K. (2002) The Impact of Parental Attachment and Supervision on Fear of Crime among Adolescent Males_. Adolescence. _37(146), p. 267. Bachman, R. & Schutt, R. (2007) The Practice of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice Third Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications Inc.