The subjects were divided into three groups based on family structure: traditional, divorced, and other nontraditional families consisting mostly of unstable family patterns. Juvenile and young adult offenses were collapsed into a measure of total criminal career between ages 15 and 21; there was no differentiation between types of crime. Data from the national police register was obtained on paternal crime: fathers were divided into non-criminals, one-time offenders, and recidivists; no data was obtained on maternal criminality. The analyses described the differential amounts of young adult criminal behavior across the three family structure types, studied the timing of parental divorce and its effect on later criminal behavior, examined the influences of socioeconomic status and paternal criminality on the child's behavior, and attempted to determine the impact of childhood family structure on criminal behavior prediction. The results showed an initial significant relationship between divorce and young adult crime, but the effects of divorce disappeared when controlled for socioeconomic status and paternal criminality. There was no significant relationship between time of divorce and subsequent criminal behavior by the the child. 3 tables, 1 figure, and 30 references (Author abstract modified)