Street Youth, Violence, and Hirschi’s Redefinition of Self-Control

Abstract

ABSTRACT The research examines Hirschi’s redefinition of self-control and its link to violence. Utilizing a sample of 287 homeless street youth the paper explores the criminogenic impacts of three different operationalizations of self-control. It investigates the direct effects of bonding self-control, attitudinal self-control, and decisional self-control on violence and assesses the indirect relationships that bonding self-control and attitudinal self-control have with violence through their associations with decisional self-control. Results indicate all three measures of self-control contribute to the understanding of intentions to engage in violence. Further, evidence reveals that both bonding self-control and attitudinal self-control have indirect links to offending through their impact on decisional self-control. Findings are discussed and suggestions for future research offered.