Social Bond Theory Essay

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.

Social capital is the is the social connections that allow for social interactions in which an individual has opportunities to build bonds, help others out, and affect change for the better. When the social engagement is reciprocated, it can produce benefits for the multiple individuals engaged in the activity and so further the circumstance of the society.

Who can participate in these programs you named?” PAL currently has 13 programs and growing. However, each year they like to add one new program even if it’s a small on. These programs include boys AAU basketball, boys and girls travel basketball, girls in-house basketball and softball, boys and girls competitive swim, girls field hockey and spring volleyball, girls travel softball, boys wresting, co-ed cheerleading, open gym, summer experience, and little ballers. Boys and girls of ages 5-18 years can participate in these

In all athletic programs, the parents and/or guardian serve as the central support system for children. Therefore, it is imperative that there is communication amongst the parent, child, and organization to ensure that there is a tailored pathway to achieving set goals. Within the athletic program, it is the responsibility of the organization to ensure that attainable yet

Through the evolution of social bonds, individuals have always been under scrutiny to abide by a list of rules in order to be successful in their community. This ideology is made evident in the book, The Code of the Street, by Elijah Anderson. Anderson dissects and exposes the various issues dealing with families in urban minority communities. These families are labeled as “street” and “decent”. The connotation of the term “code of the street” is a set of accepted and understood set of rules in which “street” and “decent” families abide by in order to function in modern-day street society. These regulatory rules are known as a “code” because this term is not blatantly stated, but mutually understood by those living in these disadvantaged communities.

Control Theory is the theory of support. This theory demonstrates an individual's social bonds in relation to their performance. Since certain bonds are stronger in certain kinds of lifestyles the affects will be different in all situations. Control theorists believe “in the rationality of the criminal act that the individual behaves in a criminal manner for ordinary reasons, and this behavior arises out of the person’s own free will” (Moyer, 2001, 133). However, deviant behavior is prevalent in today’s society. It is a major problem concerning adolescents all across the world. This theory carries serious paternalistic roles.

However, they still possess similar characteristics. For instance, policy implications of the two theories are found to overlap. One implication of social bonding theory is strengthening attachment and commitment should be combined with positive reinforcement, modeling, and learning prosocial attitudes and skills in school and family, which shows how social bonding theory overlaps with social learning theory by using the aspects of reinforcement and learning models and attitudes in conjunction with bonds. Social learning theory is also seen to lend support to social bonding theory by suggesting that the type of attachment matters; if a certain type of attachment is strong, there is more of a chance of someone imitating what he or she sees. Therefore, another implication is that by developing strong social bonds with family and schools during childhood, prepares an individual to learn prosocial skills, attitudes, and behaviors as well as helps that individual to avoid learning delinquent behaviors later on in life; this also highlights how the two theories overlap and are related. Moreover, to further illustrate, policy implications can be seen to be implemented in preventive and rehabilitative programs that use variables to positively change behavior such as curfews, after-school activities and programs, parenting classes, job placement programs, peer counseling and gang interventions. The idea behind some of these

Due to the heavy reliance of the juvenile justice system on containment, confinement, and control, removes youth from their families because the presence of a parent or parent figure who is involved with the adolescent and concerned about his or her successful development is a critical factor of healthy psychological development (Bonnie, Johnson, Chemers, and Schuck). Distanced from their peers, because inclusion in a peer group that values and models prosocial behavior and academic success is another condition that is critically important to healthy psychological development in adolescence (Bonnie, Johnson, Chemers, and Schuck). And detached from their neighborhoods the communal context of their future lives, because schools, extracurricular activities, and work settings can provide opportunities for adolescents to learn to think for themselves, develop self- reliance and self-efficacy, and improve reasoning skills, another vital factor towards healthy psychological development in adolescence (Bonnie, Johnson, Chemers, and Schuck). The communities of delinquent youths are essential aspects for their development, so therefore it is understandable that it should be incorporated with his or her

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

Today’s youth is our society’s future, which is why it is important to keep them safe and out of harm’s way. Children and teens who get into trouble are more likely to continue doing so as they reach adulthood. It is important to give children an alternative extra-curricular activity than hanging out with their friends unsupervised with peer pressure all around them. Sports can be a great way to help these children improve their lives.

This paper will be going over social learning theory and how it affects juveniles and its relation to Juvenal delinquency. Social learning theory states that learning social behaviors happens through observation and learning from others. This paper will be explaining how family, friends, and socialization affect the child's behaviors in relation to juvenile delinquency. Also going over the strengths and weaknesses of the social learning theory.

One of the most important elements of Hirischi’s social bond theory is that of attachment. This refers to the strength of the connection one has with their friends and family as well as to institutions such as school. These connections, whether they are strong or weak, can have an impact on the likelihood that one will engage in crime. Youth that are brought up in a household that stresses the importance of family, school, and morals are less likely to engage in a criminal lifestyle because they have been raised around certain social norms that they accept to be true. Therefore they are less likely to commit criminal or deviant acts.

Through an understanding of causes of juvenile delinquency society may come to deal preventively with delinquency; certainly treatment of the offender needs to be based upon an understanding of the causal mechanisms that have produced him. In this paper we'll describe three theories of juvenile delinquency such as Social Learning Theory, General Strain Theory and Behavioral Theory and discuss appropriate preventive programs based upon these theories.

In 1969, Travis Hirschi developed the Social Bond Theory. Like other social control theorists, Hirschi was interested in why the majority of society does not demonstrate delinquent behavior, as he believed most people had the natural capacity for such behavior. The social bond theory states that delinquent behavior in juveniles is not learned behavior, it is in fact a natural urge. However, the theory also states that there are social “bonds” which encourage socialization and conformity. The stronger these bonds for an individual, the less likely that individual will exhibit delinquent behavior. The four basic bonds are attachment, commitment, involvement and belief.

The social environment of teens holds an enormous influence on how the teens act and behave. Teens are easily influenced by their surroundings and they look to others for guidance. Their behavior results from that of the parent and peer influences. Parents play a particularly influential role in their child’s life and it is up to them to make sure that they are leading their sons or daughters in the right directions. A teen’s peers also play a large role in how the teen behaves when the parents are not around. A teen’s social environment, consisting of family and peers, plays a vital role in their life, therefore becoming the ultimate cause of juvenile delinquency.