In investigating public opinion on parental responsibility, this study addressed whether the public supports the underlying concepts of parental responsibility laws. It examined the general support for parental responsibility, blaming, and punishing, as well as demographic characteristics as potential predictors of support. Questions concerning parental responsibility were included as part of a larger national Gallup Organization telephone survey conducted in 1999. Nine hundred and eighty-eight men and women participated in the survey. The demographic factors used in the analysis included age, race, education, yearly income, and political philosophy. The vast majority of respondents indicated that, after the juvenile, the parents were the most responsible for a juvenile’s crimes. However, the overall agreement with blaming and punishing the parents was lower than expected. The public appeared willing to place some responsibility on parents, but less willing to support blaming or punishing the parents. Respondents’ race, gender, and age made no difference in their opinions regarding the underlying concepts of parental responsibility laws, suggesting that recent State legislative trends in imposing legal consequences, particularly punishment, on parents for their children’s actions might not hold wide support. References