This study focuses on the effect of having a first child on parents’ criminal behaviour. First we examine whether after accounting for stable between person differences, such a parenthood-effect still exists. Next we examine whether this effect differs for men and women, having a child in or outside of wedlock or having a child at a young or average age. This study is based on the individual criminal careers of 3,527 men en 339 women. A fixed effects model was used to control for selection into parenthood and crime. Results show that criminal behaviour declines after having a first child among men, but that having a first child has no effect on women’s criminal behaviour. The independent effect of having a child is larger among unmarried men than married men. When men have their first child at a young age, however, their participation in crime increases.

Previous research in mainly white Western samples has shown that temperament and conscience are important explanations for antisocial behaviour. In the current cross-sectional study among 2,185 children of the four largest ethnic groups in the Netherlands, namely, 684 Dutch, 702 Moroccan, 434 Turkish, and 365 Surinamese children, it was examined how these factors together explain antisocial behaviour and to what extent these relationships are valid regardless of ethnicity and gender. Teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for children from grades three to five of elementary school. The temperament dimension self-regulation was negatively related to antisocial behaviour for boys and girls of all ethnic groups with the exception of Turkish boys. Temperamental fearfulness was negatively associated with antisocial behaviour only for Dutch girls. Irrespective of gender and ethnicity, empathy, an important aspect of conscience, was negatively related to antisocial behaviour. Self-regulation moderated the effect of fear on antisocial behaviour only for Dutch girls and Moroccan boys.

This article offers an alternative view on litter as a sign of disorder (broken windows theory) by presenting qualitative research from the perspectives of juveniles on littering, and the various meanings they give to this behaviour. About 100 teenagers were observed in a variety of public places, such as parks and squares. A symbolic interactionist interpretation suggests that teenagers do not automatically break norms in a ‘disorderly’ environment as suggested by the broken windows theory, nor is this behaviour related to feelings of safety or lack thereof. Teenagers attach various symbolic meanings to litter and littering behaviour as these relate to their desired public identity. These results challenge the notion that litter is a reliable indicator of the experience of public safety, and calls for greater integration of symbolic interactionism within studies using the broken windows theory.

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