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Gepubliceerd in:

01-04-2008 | Original Paper

Self-Control, Social Factors, and Delinquency: A Test of The General Theory of Crime Among Adolescents in Hong Kong

Auteurs: Nicole W. T. Cheung, Yuet W. Cheung

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Youth and Adolescence | Uitgave 4/2008

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to test the predictive power of self-control theory for delinquency in a Chinese context, and to explore if social factors as predicted in social bonding theory, differential association theory, general strain theory, and labeling theory have effects on delinquency in the presence of self-control. Self-report data were collected from 1,015 Chinese secondary school students (463 boys and 552 girls) in Hong Kong aged between 14 and 19. Bivariate results showed that low self-control is correlated with delinquency in the Chinese setting. We also found that low self-control is linked to a range of negative social conditions in Chinese adolescents, including disrupted social bonds, delinquent association, deviant definition, educational under-achievement, coercive parenting, negative school experiences, negative relations with peers, stressful life events, and labeling by parents and teachers. However, contrary to self-control theory and many previous studies based on Western samples, self-control fails to predict delinquency when social variables are controlled for among Chinese adolescents. The effects of social factors on delinquency remain significant net of self-control. This suggests that it is the combination of self-control and social factors in the prediction of delinquency that might be variant across cultures. These findings from adolescents from Hong Kong only partially support the culture-free thesis of self-control theory. The implications of Chinese cultural forces on the influence of self-control merit closer attention.

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Stressful life events as causal indicators mean that each stressful life event is a determinant of exposure to strain rather than a consequence of it. Although it is common to treat the measures as effect indicators of latent variables in social sciences, such practice is not appropriate for all situations (Bollen and Ting 2000). This is the case in the measurement of the latent variable of strain indicated by the experience of a variety of life events that are best thought of as causal indicators. Causal indicators have different measurement properties. For example, whereas effect indicators positively associated with the same unidimensional latent variable should be positively correlated, the same is not true for causal indicators.

The logic behind this method is that the dummy variable entering into the regression model would eliminate the variance in the dependent variable that is attributable to missing data. A dummy variable (0 = non-missing value; 1 = missing value) was created for each independent variable with missing data, and then we replaced the missing value with the mean of the observed scores for each independent variable. The dummy variables corresponding to the independent variables with missing data were entered into the regression model prior to entering the predictors. In hierarchically partitioned models, the dummy variables entered first into the model were given priority over the subsequent predictor variables to account for variance in the delinquency variable. The explained variance of the delinquency variable attributable to missing data was partialed out, and regression coefficients were adjusted accordingly for the predictor variables. For a concise presentation, the regression coefficients of the dummy variables were not shown in the models.

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Titel: Self-Control, Social Factors, and Delinquency: A Test of The General Theory of Crime Among Adolescents in Hong Kong
Auteurs: Nicole W. T. Cheung
Yuet W. Cheung
Publicatiedatum: 01-04-2008
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Youth and Adolescence / Uitgave 4/2008
Print ISSN: 0047-2891
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-6601
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9218-y

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