Control theories represent one of the sociological explanations for delinquent behavior. Travis Hirschi is a popular control theorist who presented a social control theory; Edward Ross, Walter Reckless, and Jackson Toby are other contributors to its development (Cullen, Agnew, & Wilcox, 2017; Alvarez, 2018). The main idea of the theory is that social bonds are the most significant factors that can prevent individuals from engaging in unlawful activities. To understand the main claims of Hirshi’s work, it is necessary to analyze the concept of social control in detail.
The main components of the theory are commitment, attachment, involvement, and belief (Smith, 2017). The first factor is related to an individual’s desire to achieve conventional, law-abiding goals and willingness to adhere to social expectations.
The theory claims that acceptance of social norms can prevent individuals from committing crimes. The study by Cretacci, Rivera, Gao, and Zheng (2018) supports this argument and shows that commitment can constrain delinquency. Involvement refers to people’s participation in activities related to their goals. Cretacci et al. (2018) report, however, that not all types of involvement can prevent a person from engaging in unlawful activities.
The attachment factor is associated with individuals’ bonds with their families, partners, and peers, which eliminates their desire to offend against the law. Cretacci et al. (2018) add that parental attachment may be the most influential. Finally, belief refers to a person’s attitude towards the rules of society. The more individuals agree with the fairness of existing norms, the less likely they are to commit a crime (Cretacci et al., 2018). It is possible to say that this factor exclusively cannot have a significant impact on a person; there should be a combination of several components. In summary, the social control theory presents a reliable explanation for delinquent behavior.
References
Alvarez, C. (2018). Testing social bond theory on Hispanic youth. Web.
Cretacci, M. A., Rivera, C., Gao, Y., & Zheng, L. (2018). Bonding to Bamboo: A social control explanation of Chinese crime. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 13(1), 122.
Cullen, F. T., Agnew, R., & Wilcox, P. (2017). Criminological theory: Past to present: Essential readings (6th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Smith, M. (2017). Prison programming and recidivism as a method of social bond theory: A meta-analysis of research from 2000-2015. Web.