Does living in a chaotic home predict adolescent delinquency? A moderated mediation model of impulsivity and school connectedness

Abstract

Research suggests that household chaos is negatively associated with children's developmental outcomes; however, little is known about the potential detrimental effects that living in a chaotic home environment may have on adolescents' outcomes, particularly on their delinquent behaviors. This study aims to examine the association between household chaos and delinquency, test whether impulsivity explains this association, and explore whether school connectedness moderates the associations between household chaos, impulsivity, and delinquency. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we employed PROCESS Macro in SPSS to test the mediation effect of impulsivity and the moderation effect of school connectedness. The results indicated that household chaos was positively associated with delinquency and that impulsivity mediated this association. Moderated mediation analyses also showed that the pathways between impulsivity and delinquency were moderated by school connectedness. These findings highlight the significance of household chaos for adolescents' impulsivity and delinquency, as well as the importance of school connectedness for ultimately preventing delinquency.