Abstract
The present paper operationalizes and empirically tests the most recent theoretical speculations of Hirschi and Gottfredson regarding an individual level characteristic of self-control and its relation to earlier specifications of control theory as well as the literature on personality. Linkages are drawn between their broad delineation of self-control and personal disorders of hyperactivity, impulsivity, attention deficits, and minor conduct problems. Psychologists disagree about whether such disorders represent single or multiple traits and whether both behavioral and cognitive measures can appropriately depict personality characteristics. Employing structural equation techniques, support for several propositions derived from Gottfredson and Hirschi's thesis is found: Self-control subsumes several personality disorders and is significantly comprised by early behavioral indicators of aggression and fighting, is inversely related to other elements of the social bond, is moderately stable over a short period of time, and significantly predicts criminal convictions. However, questions remain regarding the ubiquity of self-control, the magnitude and meaning of stability, and the power of this perspective to explain all forms of self-reported delinquency.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akers, R. L. (1984). Delinquent behavior, drugs, and alcohol: What is the relationship?Today's Delinq. 3: 19–47.
Akers, R. L., Krohn, M. D., Lanza-Kaduce, L., and Radosevich, M. (1979). Social learning and deviant behavior: A specific test of a general theory.Am. Sociol. Rev. 44: 636–655.
American Psychiatric Association (1980).Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed., APA, Washington, DC.
Asendorpf, J. B. (1992). Continuity and stability of personality traits and patterns. In Asendorpf, J. B., and Valsiner, J. (eds.),Stability and Change in Development, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA, pp. 116–142.
Barratt, E. S., and Patton, J. H. (1983). Impulsivity: Cognitive, behavioral, and psychological correlates. In Zuckerman, M. (ed.),Biological Bases of Sensation Seeking, Impulsivity, and Anxiety, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Blumstein, A., Cohen, J., and Farrington, D. (1988). Longitudinal and criminal career research: Further clarifications.Criminology 26: 57–74.
Boomsma, A. (1983).On the robustness of L1SREL Against Small Sample Size and Nonnormality, Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Statistics and Measurement, State University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Brennan, P., Mednick, S., and John, R. (1989). Specialization in violence; Evidence of a criminal subgroup.Criminology 27: 437–454.
Buss, A., and Plomin, R. (1975).A Temperament Theory of Personality Development, Wiley-Interscience, New York.
Campbell, R. T., and Mutran, E. (1982). Analyzing panel data in studies of aging: Applications of the LISREL model.Res. Aging 4: 3–41.
Carmines, E., and McIver, J. (1981). Analyzing models with unobserved variables: Analysis of covariance structures. In Bohrnstedt, G., and Borgatta, E. (eds.),Social Measurement: Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.
Caspi, A., Bern, D. J., and Elder, G. H., Jr. (1987). Moving against the world: Life-course patterns of explosive children.Dev. Psychol. 23: 308–313.
Collins, R. (1989). Sociology: Proscience or antiscience.Am. Sociol. Rev. 54: 124–139.
Elliot, D., Ageton, S., and Cantor, R. (1979). An integrated theoretical perspective on delinquent behavior.J. Res. Crime Delinq. 16: 3–27.
Eysenck, H. J. (1986). A critique of contemporary classification and diagnosis. In Millon, T., and Klerman, G. L. (eds.),Contemporary Directions in Psychopathology, Guilford Press, New York, pp. 73–98.
Farrington, D. (1981).Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development in Great Britain. 1961–1981; Codebook. Cambridge University, Cambridge.
Farrington, D. (1985). Predicting self-reported and official delinquency. In Farrington, D. P., and Tarling, R. (eds.),Prediction in Criminology, SUNY Press, New York.
Farrington, D. P., Ohlin, L. E., and Wilson, J. Q. (1986).Understanding and Controlling Crime, Springer-Verlag, New York.
Farrington, D. P., Loeber, R., and VanKammen, W. B. (1990). Long-term outcomes of hyperactivity-impulsivity, attention deficit and conduct problems in childhood. In Robins, L. N., and Rutter, M. (eds.),Straight and Devious Pathways from Childhood to Adulthood, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Glueck, S., and Glueck, E. (1943).Criminal Careers in Retrospect, The Commonwealth Fund, New York.
Gottesman, I. I., and Shields, J. (1982).Schizophrenia: The Epigenetic Puzzle, Cambridge University Press, New York.
Gottfredson, M., and Hirschi, T. (1986). The true value of lambda would appear to be zero: An essay on career criminals, criminal careers, selective incapacitation, cohort studies and related topics.Criminology 24: 213–232.
Gottfredson, M., and Hirschi, T. (1988). Science, public policy, and the career program.Criminology 26: 37–56.
Gottfredson, M., and Hirschi, T. (1990).A General Theory of Crime, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
Gove, W. R. (1985). The effect of age and gender on deviant behavior: A biopsychosocial perspective. In Rossi, A. (ed.),Gender and the Life Course, Aldine Press, Chicago, pp. 115–144.
Grasmick, H. G., Tittle, C. R., Bursik, R. J., and Arneklev, B. J. (1993). Testing the core empirical implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime.J. Res. Crime Delinq. 30: 5–29.
Greenberg, D. F. (1991). Modeling Criminal Careers.Criminology 29: 17–46.
Groves, W, B., and Newman, G. (1989). Against general theory in comparative research.Int. J. Comp. Appl. Crim. Just. 13: 1.
Hayduk, L. (1987).Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Hinshaw, S. P. (1987). On the distinction between attentional deficits/hyperactivity and conduct problems/aggression in child psychopathology.Psychol. Bull. 3: 443–463.
Hirschi, T. (1969).Causes of Delinquency, University of California Press, Berkeley.
Hirschi, T. (1979). Separate and Unequal is Better.J. Res. Crime Delinq. 16: 34–38.
Hirschi, T. (1986). On the compatibility of rational choice and social control theories of crime. In Cornish, D., and Clarke, R. (eds.),The Reasoning Criminal: Rational Choice Perspectives in Offending, Springer-Verlag Press, New York.
Hirschi, T., and Gottfredson, M. (1983). Age and the explanation of crime.Am. J. Sociol. 89: 552–584.
Hirschi, T. and Gottfredson, M. (1984). All wise after the fact learning theory, again: Reply to Baldwin.Am. J. Sociol. 90: 1326–1329.
Hirschi, T., and Gottfredson, M. (1986). The distinction between crime and criminality. In Hartnagel, T. F., and Silverman, R. A. (eds.),Critique and Exploration: Essays in Honor of Gwynne Nettler, Transaction, New Brunswick, NJ, pp. 75–101.
Hirschi, T., and Gottfredson, M. (1993). Commentary: Testing the general theory of crime,J. Res. Crime Delinq. 30: 47–54.
Joreskog, K., and Sorbom, D. (1988).LISREL, Scientific Software, IN.
Keane, G., Maxim, P. S., and Teevan, J. J. (1993). Drinking and driving, self-control, and gender: Testing a general theory of crime.J. Res. Crime Delinq. 30: 30–46.
Kohn, A. (1989). Suffer the restless children.Atlantic Monthly 264: 90–100.
Krohn, M. D., and Massey J. L. (1980). Social control and delinquent behavior: An examination of the elements of the social bond.Sociol. Q. 21: 529–543.
Lahey, B., Green, K., and Forehand, R. (1980). On the independence of ratings of hyperactivity, conduct problems, and attention deficit in children.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 48: 566–574.
Loehlin, J. C. (1992).Latent Variable Models: An Introduction to Factor, Path, and Structural Analysis, 2nd ed., Lawrence Erlbaum, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Loehlin, J. C., and Nichols, R. C. (1976).Heredity, Environment, and Personality, University of Texas Press, Austin.
Long, J. S. (1983).Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.
Matsueda, R. L. (1982). Testing control theory and differential association: A causal modeling approach.Am. Sociol. Rev. 47: 489–504.
McBurnett, K. (1992). Psychobiological approaches to personality and their applications to child psychopathology. In Lahey, B. B., and Kazdin, A. E. (eds.),Advances in Clinical Child Psychology, Plenum Press, New York, Vol. 14, pp. 107–164.
McGee, R., Williams, S., and Silva, P. (1984). Behavioral and developmental characteristics of aggressive, hyperactive, and aggressive hyperactive boys.J. Am. Acad. Child Psychiat. 23: 270–279.
Meehl, P. E. (1992). Factors and Taxa, traits and types, differences of degree and differences in kind.J. Personal. 60: 117–172.
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., and Rodriquez, M. (1989). Delay of gratification in children.Science 244: 933–938.
Moffitt, T. E. (1990a). Juvenile delinquency and attention deficit disorder: Boys' developmental trajectories from age 3 to age 15.Child Dev. 61: 893–910.
Moffitt, T. E. (1990b). The neuropsychology of juvenile delinquency: A critical review. In Tonry, M., and Morris, N. (eds.),Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Vol. 12, pp. 99–169.
Muthen, B., and Kaplin, D. (1985). A comparison of some methodologies for the factor analysis of non-normal Likert variables.Br. J. Math. Stat. Psychol. 38: 171–189.
Nagin, D. S., and Farrington, D. P. (1992a). The stability of criminal potential from childhood to adulthood.Criminology 30: 235–260.
Nagin, D. S., and Farrington, D. P. (1992b). The onset and persistence of offending.Criminology 30: 501–524.
Nesselroade, J. R. (1983). Temporal selection and factor invariance in the study of development and change.Life-Span Dev. Behav. 5: 60–89.
Ozer, D. J., and Gjerde, P. F. (1989). Patterns of personality consistency and change from childhood through adolescence.J. Personal. 57: 484–507.
Paternoster, R., and Triplett, R. (1988). Disaggregating self-reported delinquency and its implications for theory.Criminology 26: 591–626.
Petersilia, J. (1980). Criminal career research: A review of recent evidence. In Tonry, M., and Morris, N. (eds.),Crime and Justice: An Annual Review of Research, Vol. 2, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 321–379.
Plomin, R., and Daniels, D. (1987). Why are children in the same family so different from one another?Behav. Brain Sci. 10: 1–16.
Pulkkinen, L. (1982). Self-control and continuity from childhood to late adolescence.Life-Span Dev. Behav. 4: 63–105.
Reckless, W. C., and Dinitz, S. (1972).The Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency: An Experiment, Ohio University Press, Columbus.
Rindskopf, D. (1984). Structural equation models: Empirical identification, Heywood cases, and related problems.Sociol. Methods Res. 13: 109–119.
Robins, L. N. (1978). Study of childhood predictors of adult antisocial behavior: Replication from longitudinal studies.Psychol. Med. 8: 611–622.
Rowe, D. C., and Osgood, D. W. (1984). Heredity and sociological theories of delinquency: A reconsideration.Am. Sociol. Rev. 49: 526–540.
Rutter, M. (1987). Temperament, personality, and personality disorder.Br. J. Psychiat. 150: 443–458.
Rutter, M. (1989). Attention deficit disorder hyperkinetic syndrome: Conceptual and research issues regarding diagnosis and classification. In Sagvolden, T., and Archer, T. (eds.),Attention Deficit Disorder: Clinical and Basic Research, Erlbaum, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, pp. 1–24.
Schellenberg, J. A. (1978).Masters of Social Psychology, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Shapiro, D. (1965).Neurotic Styles. Basic Books, New York.
Stewart, M., Cummings, C., Singer, S., and Deblois, C. (1981). The overlap between hyperactive and unsocialized aggressive children.J. Child Psychol. Psychiat. 22: 35–45.
Tuma, N. B., and Hannan, M. T. (1984).Social Dynamics: Models and Methods, Academic Press, Orlando, FL.
Vold, G. (1985).Theoretical Criminology, Random House, New York.
Walters, G. D., and White, T. W. (1989). Heredity and crime: Bad genes or bad research?Criminology 27: 455–485.
Weis, J. G., and Hawkins, J. D. (1981).Prevention Delinquency: The Social Development Approach, Center for Law and Justice, University of Washington, Seattle.
Weiss, J. G., and Hechtman, L. T. (1986).Hyperactive Children Grown Up, Guilford Press, New York.
Werry, J., Sprague, R., and Cohen, M. (1975). Conners teachers rating scale for use in drug studies with children.J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 3: 217–229.
Werry, J., Reeves, J., and Elkind, G. (1987). Attention deficit, conduct, oppositional, and anxiety disorders in children.J. Child Adolesc. Psychiat. 26: 133–143.
West, D. J. (1967).The Young Offender, International Universities Press, New York.
West, D. J. (1969).Present Conduct and Future Delinquency, International Universities Press, New York.
West, D. J. (1982).Delinquency: Its Roots, Careers and Prospects, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
West, D. J., and Farrington, D. P. (1973).Who Becomes Delinquent? Heinemann, London.
West, D. J., and Farrington, D. P. (1977).The Delinquent Way of Life, Heinemann, London.
Wheaton, B., Muthen, B., Alwin, D., and Summers, G. (1977). Assessing reliability and stability in panel models.Sociol. Methodol. 7: 84–136.
White, D. M., and Sprague, R. L. (1992). The attention deficit in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. In Lahey, B. B., and Kazdin, A. E. (eds.),Advances in Clinical Child Psychology, Plenum Press, New York, Vol. 14, pp. 3–26.
Wiatrowski, M., Griswold, D., and Roberts, M. (1981). Social control theory and delinquency.Am. Sociol. Rev. 46: 525–541.
Wilson, J. Q., and Herrnstein, R. J. (1985).Crime and Human Nature, Simon and Schuster, New York.
Wolfgang, M. E., and Ferracuti, F. (1967).The Subculture of Violence, Social Science Paperbacks, London.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Polakowski, M. Linking self- and social control with deviance: Illuminating the structure underlying a general theory of crime and its relation to deviant activity. J Quant Criminol 10, 41–78 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02221008
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02221008