Child-rearing practices were measured by interviews with mothers when the children were aged 1, 4, 7, 11, and 16 years. The data were analyzed according to two outcome measures: troublesomeness at age 16 and the acquisition of a criminal record in early adulthood. Scales of child-rearing practices used dimensions including bamboozlement, chaperonage, and child-centeredness, as well as parents' use of physical punishment, the child's temperament, father's influence, and family cohesion. The results indicated that, while an emotionally secure early childhood can protect children against later behavior problems, parents must be able to alter their parenting strategies appropriately in response to the child's transition from childhood to adolescence and early adulthood. An authoritarian, dominating, and punitive style of parenting, a lack of negotiation between parent and child on certain moral issues, and the use of physical punishment were found to predict of later criminality. 8 tables and 4 references