Validating Social Control, Self-Control, and Social Learning Constructs Among a Sample of Youth in Nine English-Speaking Caribbean Nations

Abstract

Measures in international self-report surveys drawn from criminological theories have rarely been validated. Instruments that have been tested suggest that they might lack reliability and validity depending on the nation. The present study uses a large sample of school-attending youth in nine English-speaking Caribbean countries to examine the reliability and validity of three theoretical constructs—social control, self-control, and social learning—included in the Eurogang Youth Survey instrument. Our findings suggest that the theoretical constructs contained in the Eurogang Youth Survey instrument are relevant to explaining Caribbean delinquency and show adequate reliability levels. Our results also show consistency in the measurement structure of these theoretical constructs across the study nations.