A Control Theory Of Delinquency

Travis Hirschi developed the social control theory in 1969. He proclaimed that the primary reason for the influence delinquency is the lack of social bonds. The social bond theory is composed of four components: attachment, commitment. involvement, and belief. Individuals who do not have these components or who have very weak bonds are prone to delinquency. The first part of Hirschi’s theory is the attachment theory. The attachment theory focuses on a person’s emotional assurance and connection with certain individuals and groups, it also involves an individual’s sensitivity and ability to sympathize with others. Since Harris and Klebold were anti-social and often bullied they had poor relationships with friends or their highs school, or their family leaving them out casted and feeling alone. Harris and Klebold were emotionally committed to one another, are invested in one another spend a great deal of time interacting with one another and they created an attachment to one

Hirschi’s social bond theory differs from his self control theory, as his social bond theory has to do with external factors rather than internal. Social bond theory sees the social control factor as fluid, whereas self-control theory sees it as stagnant. Self control theory has to do with the individual, and their internal beliefs which are “cemented” in their upbringing. Social bond theory sees beliefs as fluid, based on the interactions that occur over an individuals lifespan. The two theories basically see crime as an internal vs external factor, stemming from the individual’s experiences.

Social control/bond theory was developed by Travis Hirschi in1969. The social control approach is one of the three major sociological perspectives in understanding crime in our contemporary criminology. The theory holds that individuals will break the law as a result of the breakdown of the social bonds (Akers & Sellers, 2004, p. 16). Control theorists believe that an individual conformity to societal social values and rules produced by socialization and maintained through social ties to the people and institutions. The social bond may include family attachment, an individual commitment to social norms or institutions like school, employment, churches and mosques. The key elements of the social bonds theory are an attachment to other individuals in the society and the desire to remain committed to following rules. In addition, an individual involvement in typical social behaviours as well as one 's belief or the value systems a person ascribes. According to the theory, crime and delinquency will result when a person bond to society is weak or lose (Demuth & Brown, 2004, p.65). Moreover, as social bonds increase in strength, individual costs of crime increases as well and this ultimately act as a barrier for committing a crime.

The self -esteem of the youth isn’t permanently effected by a permanent record. The overall repeat offenses by the juvenile is reduced, and they are provided the necessary services to improve their situation/situations that may have led to the offense. Law enforcement can be utilized more efficiently while the Juvenile Justice System referrals are reduced. (Salinero, 2012)

Studies suggest that young people are often at risk of re-offending (e.g. Sharkey, et al, 2003; Vincent & Seagrave, 2005). Sharkey and his colleagues explained that youth often reoffend since, as they prepare themselves in returning to their respective communities, they are usually confronted by similar situations that had influenced their behaviors prior to committing offenses. Another group of researchers however show that youth engaged in education, employment and other productive endeavors in their communities within 6 to 8 months after their release are less vulnerable to commit another offense (e.g. Keating, et al., 2002, Bullis, et al, 2002, Grossman & Tierney, 2008).

Also known as Hirschi’s Social Bonds theory, suggests that individuals who are closely bonded to social groups within their society are less likely to engage in criminal or deviant behaviours. There are four features of this theory, 1) attachment, 2) commitment, 3) involvement and 4) belief (Hirschi, 1986).

Individuals with strong and stable attachments to others within society, such as family, friends and community institutions are presumed to be less likely to violate social norms, because such behaviour would distress these respective attachments (Reginald et al, 1995). Second, is commitment, meaning having an individual investment in social activities. For example, an individual who has invested time, energy and resources into conforming to social norms, such as educational and career goals, is less likely to become involved in a gang (Goodwill 2009). In particular, since they have invested heavily in conforming these individuals have more to lose than those who have not invested in their future in a conforming fashion. (Reginald et al, 1995). Third, is involvement, which Hirschi utilized in order to illustrate that when large amounts of structured time are invested in socially approved activities, such as sports or work, the time for available deviance is drastically reduced (Reginald et al, 1995). Specifically, active engagement in conventional endeavors acts as a powerful protective factor against delinquency (Huebner and Betts, 2002). Hirschi’s final element of social bonding is belief. This pertains to an actor’s level of belief in the moral validity of shared social values and norms (Reginald et al, 1995). When an individual strongly believes in the conventional norms they are less likely to deviate from

Social Bonding Theory, subset Stake in Conformity, says if people have a commitment or a stake in conformity (being a part of society), then they are less likely to jeopardize that stake by being deviant and engaging in a violation of the law (Toby, 1957). The greater the endeavors that hold up an individual’s social standing such as conventional education and a person’s occupation, the less likely they are to forgo or abandon them for a nefarious criminal act (Toby, 1957). Gottfredson and Hirschi talk about how people will

The social bond theory states that a person's view towards society determines if that person will be a criminal or not. According to Hirschi there are 5 elements that determine if a person has a good bond or a bad bond with society. They are attachment, commitment, belief, and involvement. When one of these elements is not good then a person is bound to a criminal life. In other words when a person breaks its bonds with society then they start to go against society norms or begin to get involve in deviant acts. All of these play a role in determining the bond a person has with society.

This theory has a different focus than typical theories; in this theory, conformity is emphasized, specifically, with the focus being on the reasoning behind why people conform and obey society’s rules, instead of why people deviate from norms. This theory operates under the basic assumption that delinquent behavior occurs because of a person’s bond or tie to society being weak or non-existent. There are four elements that make up this bond: attachment to others, commitment, involvement, and belief. Thus, the stronger the bond’s element, the less likely a person is going to engage in crime; likewise, the weaker the element of the bond is, the more likely a person is going to commit crime. Also, all four identified elements are said to be connected and interdependent, so a weakness in one element will more than likely lead to weaknesses in the other elements. In other words, these elements control a person’s level of conformity; crime control stems from one’s ties to conventional society. This theory also assumes that people are born naturally selfish; however, this is not a born tendency or trait. Rather, this means that the motivation for crime in society is evenly spread out since everyone has the same inclination for crime. Similarly, under this theory, the way people are controlled by society through these bonds is

Juvenile delinquency is very prevalent especially among adolescents because studies have shown that during the time of adolescence that is when delinquency tends to increase and once adolescence has passed at about 17 years of age then it tends to decrease (Adolescent Delinquency, 2002). There are many factors that can contribute to the increase of delinquency during adolescence, some of the factors can be personality, mental disorders, genetics, economic status, environment, family, and culture among others, also to understand better the causes of juvenile delinquency the social control theory is the best theory to explain juvenile delinquency as a whole (Adolescent Delinquency, 2002).

The first measure that if all three waves participated in the topic of delinquency by being specifically involved in damaging property, stealing objects over 50$ or threatening to hurt someone else with a weapon. Wave one specifically answered the question of being in a relationship for the last eighteen months. Other questions asked was what intimacy looked like in relationships like holding hands, kissing or telling their partner is they loved them. The relationships spoken about were seen as romantic relationships since romantic behaviors were involved (Serafini & Rye & Drysdale, 2013, pg. 260.)

Social bond theory shows an interesting way to look at the social problems, such as crime, that surround the world we live in. The theory primarily focuses on the peers and peer groups of individuals. The four basic elements that the theory focus on are attachment, commitment, involvement in activities including both criminal and noncriminal, and also the the common values that are giving to an individuals groups and subgroups. The element of attachment can be described as the values or the norms that someone has in their society. Attachment is most important with the figures that have a strong influence over a person 's life such as parental figures. Friends at school can also be important people related to attachment. Commitment is different than attachment in that it focuses on how much a person is committed to abiding by legal behavior. As a child we are hopefully taught was is the right thing

The theoretical stability of social control theory rests upon the existence of four variables which are not only thought to have a correlative relationship amongst each other but are viewed as pivotal perquisites in deterring deviant behavior. These variables are attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Attachment refers to the obligatory connections and expectations that relate the individual to other persons in society. Through the individual's attachments to other people's expectations, norms become internalized by the individual. Commitment refers to the fear of law-breaking behavior and assumes that the organization of society is situated such that the interests of most persons of the given society would be endangered if they decide to engage in criminal and/or deviant acts. Involvement refers to the conventional activities that makes a person too busy to find time and/or the opportunity to engage in deviant behavior. As for Belief, the theory holds that a common, if not, single value system exists in society in which both he law-abiding individual as well as deviant both value. The opinions and impressions that are dependent on constant social reinforcement comprise belief. A person is more likely to conform to social norms when he believes in them. However, there is possibly a wide variability amongst the society as to how much one adheres to the belief that they should obey the norms and rules of society.

Therefore the reason for their urge to kill is critical when considering the effects society has on them. When analyzing A Control Theory of Delinquency by Travis Hirschi, he states that “Control theories assume that delinquent acts result when an individual’s bond to society is weak or broken.” (Hirschi, 172) Here he analyzes elements of the bond which include Attachment, Commitment, Involvement, and Belief. With respect to Attachment it is clear that with lack of attachments to others comes the freedom from moral restrains. It is also important to consider that alienation when there is interpersonal conflict. With this in mind those that do murder others, especially individuals discussed above, have endured this lack of attachment and as a result, because he is not bound by the social norms he is free to deviate. Another element of bond is involvement. Here Hirschi states that “a person may be simply too busy doing conventional things to find time to engage in deviant behavior.” (Hirschi, 175) Involvement in society is crucial but when taking into account socioeconomic backgrounds not everyone is presented with the same resources and opportunities, therefore not everyone can count on the same methods to become involved. Therefore without these opportunities certain individuals are more likely to fall into juvenile delinquency which later leads to more serious crimes.