Social Bonds, Self-Control, and Adult Criminality

Abstract

Recent modifications to self-control theory suggest that influential factors (bonds) equate to self-control in the calculation of whether or not to engage in deviant behavior. Hirschi argued that self-control should fare better as a theory when it is operationalized as the number and salience of an individual’s social bonds, rather than as a cognitive scale, or count of previous acts, as suggested by the original theory. This study extends the control theory literature by assessing the impact of redefined self-control, as well as attitudinal self-control, on adult criminal behavior. Data analyzed were from Waves 10 and 11 of the National Youth Survey Family Study. Findings suggest that both forms of self-control (new and old) are equivalently predictive of adult crime, yet it is unlikely that they are capturing the same phenomenon during adulthood. Implications for control theory are discussed.