Theories Of Delinquency Research Articles

The Self-Control Ability Scale: Measuring a Key Construct of Situational Action Theory

Situational Action Theory (SAT) has emerged as a prominent theory of crime and delinquency. It includes a new conceptualization of self-control, which emphasizes its role in enabling individuals to adhere to their morality when deliberating about deviant and non-deviant action alternatives. However, existing self-control scales do not directly capture this role of self-control as a guardian of personal morality when externally challenged. To close this gap, we developed and validated the Self-Control Ability Scale (SCAS) to measure an individual’s self-perceived ability to withstand temptation, provocation, or social pressure when they conflict with their personal morality. We present the results of four studies that provide evidence for the three-dimensional structure of the SCAS, the reliability of its measures, its validity, and its measurement invariance across age, gender, and language. The SCAS promises more informative tests of SAT and new insights into individuals’ ability to adhere to their morality when challenged.

Testing Key Concepts of Three Delinquency Theories in a Multi-National Sample of Adolescents

ABSTRACT We test the generalizability of three mainstream delinquency theories across different cultural contexts by differentiating their core theoretical elements in general strain theory (economic stress, negative life events, victimization), social learning theory (deviant friends, beliefs) and social control theory (self-control, social bonds, parental supervision). We draw on data collected from 67,004 youth aged 12 to 16 years old from 33 countries in the International Self-Report Delinquency project (ISRD3) where cultural context is operationalized by nine country clusters. OLS models show that several variables (delinquent friends, victimization, self-control, parental supervision, anticipated shame, pro-social values) have different but significant effects across all country clusters, supporting the universality of these correlates. However, not all correlates (teacher bonds, family deprivation, social bonds) were statistically significant, suggesting a mediating role for culture. When accounting for the explanatory power of the models, we find variation across country clusters. Furthermore, the test for the predictive equality of coefficients for a subsample of clusters found significant differences for some variables. We conclude with recommendations for future research and cross-national criminology development.

The Deviance and Relationship between Locus of Control, Control Ratio, and Self‐Control

The purpose of the current study is to examine the widely used term controllability through analysis of three important factors, based on three known theories of delinquency: The first factor, the control ratio, is the relationship between people's perception of their control over their environment and their perception of the environment's control over them (Tittle, Control Balance: Toward a General Theory of Deviance, Westview, 1995; Tittle, Theor. Criminol., 8, 2004, 395; Tittle, Recent Developments in Criminological Theory, Routledge, 2017). The second factor, locus of control, differentiates between people who think they control their own lives and those who feel that their lives control them (Rotter, Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80 (1, Whole No. 609), 1966). Finally, the third factor, self‐control, relates to people's ability to direct their behavior (Gottfredson & Hirschi, A general Theory of Crime, Stanford University, 1990). Five research hypotheses were examined: (1) the higher the internal locus of control, the lower the external locus of control – fate and others; (2) the higher the self‐control, the higher the internal locus of control/control ratio; (3) the greater the lack of control (i.e., the lower the control ratio), the greater the external locus of control; (4) the lower the self‐control, the higher the external locus of control/lack of control; (5) the higher the control ratio, the higher the internal locus of control. Questionnaires were completed by 215 undergraduate students from four different faculties from the same university, 53 males and 58 females studying psychology or social work (i.e., therapy‐oriented disciplines), 58 males and 46 females studying economics or law (i.e., non‐therapy‐oriented disciplines). The findings of the study reinforced all five hypotheses, thereby providing an additional layer of infrastructure for conducting the important mapping of various factors that are part of controllability. The results also enabled ties and connections to be made between these and additional factors, on the road to understanding, coping with and intervening in a range of human activities in general, and deviant behavior specifically.

The Connections Between Control Attitude, Locus of Control and Self-Control

The main purpose of the current study is to examine the widely-used term controllability through analysis of three important factors that continuously receive scientific attention- based on three known theories of delinquency and crime: The first factor; the control ratio is the relationship between people's perception of their control over their environment and their perception of the environment's control over them [1-3]. The second factor; locus of control; differentiates between people who think they control their own lives and those who feel that their lives control them [4]. Finally, the third factor, self-control relates to people's ability to direct their behavior [5]. This third factor; whereby the person is both the subject and the object, is more focused than the first two, as it relates to the people themselves, not to their external environment. Five research hypotheses were examined: (1) the higher the internal locus of control, the lower the external locus of control - fate and others ; (2) the higher the self-control, the higher the internal locus of control/control ratio; (3) the greater the lack of control (i.e., the lower the control ratio), the greater the external locus of control; (4) the lower the self-control, the higher the external locus of control/lack of control; (5) the higher the control ratio, the higher the internal locus of control. Questionnaires were completed by 215 undergraduate students from four different faculties from the same university, 53 males and 58 females studying psychology or social work (i.e., therapy-oriented disciplines), 58 males and 46 females studying economics or law (i.e., non-therapy-oriented disciplines). The findings of the study reinforced all five hypotheses, thereby providing an additional layer of infrastructure for conducting the important mapping of various factors that are part of controllability. The results also enabled ties and connections to be made between these and additional factors, on the road to understanding, coping with and intervening in a range of human activities in general, and deviant behavior specifically.

Life Domains, Constraints, Motivations, and Intimate Partner Violence: Assessing the Generality of Agnew’s General Theory of Crime and Delinquency

Given the victim-offender overlap, it has been suggested that every theory about offenders implies a corresponding theory of victimization. We assess the above assertion concerning Agnew’s general theory of crime and delinquency within the context of intimate partner violence (IPV). Drawing data from the International Dating Violence Study, we examine the direct and indirect effects of the self, family, school/work, and peer domains on IPV perpetration and victimization. We found the four life domains significantly predicted both IPV perpetration and victimization and their effects on both outcome variables were mediated by the constraint and motivation factors. Our results indicate that the mechanisms that account for offending posited in Agnew’s perspective appear to be equally relevant and applicable for understanding victimization.

Sociological theories of juvenile delinquency

The present paper studies Juvenile Delinquency from the perspective of the sociological theories of criminology. Since, Juvenile Delinquency as a concept originates from the societal parameters, and flourishes within the society; it correlates with the societal framework; it's imperative to understand how Delinquency has taken its present shape. Therefore, the paper discusses the sociological theories to understand the relationship between crime to Delinquency. The present paper also tries to research whether one or two theories can suffice the need to understand Juvenile Delinquency or whether all the theories should be studied in correlation with each other in different societal frameworks.

The Impact of Life Domains on Delinquent Behaviors in Five Caribbean Countries: A Partial Test of Agnew's General Theory of Crime and Delinquency.

The current study tests the applicability of Agnew's (2005) general theory of crime and delinquency to a sample of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) youths and explains the hypothesized direct and indirect/mediated effects of family attachment and peer delinquency on delinquent behaviors. Data for this study were obtained from a 2014 cross-sectional survey of 512 adolescents from the five members of the CARICOM. This study utilizes mediation analysis. Results reveal that adolescents with abuse experience from family members and unsafe school environments are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior. Furthermore, peer delinquency is significantly related to delinquent behavior and mediates the link between child abuse, family history of violence, unsafe school environment, and subsequent delinquent behavior. Finally, child abuse generated a lower level of family attachment, and then a higher level of family attachment led to a lower likelihood of subsequent delinquent behavior.

Gender, Life Domains, and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration: A Partial Test of Agnew’s General Theory of Crime and Delinquency

Objectives We assess the proposed mechanisms outlined in Agnew’s General Theory of Crime and Delinquency about gender differences in crime and deviance (gender differences are due to differences between males and females in their standing on the life domains or differences in the effect of the life domains on the phenomenon among males and females) in accounting for sex differences in intimate partner violence (IPV) among a sample of young adults. Methods Drawing data from the International Dating Violence Study (IDVS) and employing the negative binomial regression method, we examined the effects of six self-domains, four family domains, one school/work domain, and one peer domain measures on IPV. Results Although males reported a higher frequency across all five life domains compared to females, the number of life domain variables that were significantly related to IPV among females was greater than the number among males. Further, the effects of the life domain variables on IPV were different for males and females with the peer variable (criminal peers) exhibiting the greatest effect on IPV among males and the self-domain (anger issues) demonstrating the greatest effect on IPV among females. Conclusions Agnew’s theory is well suited to assess sex differences in IPV.

Theories of Delinquency and Deviance Applied to Consumption

As aspects of ethical and moral consumption, this paper is concerned with gaining deeper insights into how people could possibly react to being judged and then labeled delinquent and deviant consumers (i.e., falling short of or neglecting to fulfill their duty to others, other species, and the Earth). To that end, theories of delinquency (rational choice, strain, anomie, social processes, subculture, and differential opportunity) and Henry and Eaton’s six degrees of deviance approach were employed to conceptualize this phenomenon. Each theory and degree of deviance is explained and then paired with a consumer example to illustrate its relevance in offering insights into people’s possible reactions to being judged and labelled delinquent and deviant consumers. Future researchers are encouraged to operationalize the ideas contained herein to see if they have empirical and theoretical merit.

Exploring Risk and Protective Factors for Cyberbullying and Their Interplay: Evidence from a Sample of South Korean College Students

This study explored risk and protective factors for cyberbullying perpetration and examined whether they independently and interactively predicted cyberbullying perpetration. Based on key propositions of micro-level theories of crime and delinquency, we adopted two risk factors, cyberbullying victimization and association with cyberbullying peers, and two protective factors, morality and self-control. Using a sample of South Korean college students (N = 244; 112 women (45.9%), 132 men (54.1%); Mean (age) = 22), we found that the two risk factors were positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration, while only one of the two protective factors, which is morality, had a negative relationship with cyberbullying perpetration. In addition, the two protective factors partially buffered the effects of both risk factors on cyberbullying perpetration. The implications and limitations of these findings were also discussed.

A Commentary on “The Rorschach and Violent Crime” (de Ruiter, 2021)

A Commentary on “The Rorschach and Violent Crime” (de Ruiter, 2021)

Reflections on Six Decades of Research

A brief autobiographical history is presented covering my 57-year career as a criminologist. I begin with my early childhood experiences, growing up during World War II, my undergraduate and graduate school experiences, and my early career years at San Diego State University and the University of Colorado, Boulder. I then discuss two of the major themes in my research developed during these early career years: self-report measures of delinquent behavior and the Integrated Theory of delinquency. My later career years are described, and the third major theme of my work, the identification and promotion of effective delinquency prevention programs, is discussed.

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN JAY ASHER’S NOVEL THIRTEEN REASONS WHY

This study is aimed at analyzing juvenile delinquency in Jay Asher’s novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, published in 2007. Further, the analysis is focused on the forms of juvenile delinquency covering bullying, drinking alcohol, having free sex, and having sexual harrasment done by the characters of the novel named Hannah Baker, Bryce Walker, Justin Foley, Alex Standall, Jessica Davis, Courtney Crimsen, Marcus Cooley, and Bryce Walker. This research is conducted to reveal the forms of juvenile delinquency conducted by the main characters in the novel. This study is qualitatively carried out. In this study, the researchers apply the theory of juvenile delinquency proposed by Santrock, supported by that proposed by Kartono referring to a variety of behavior of children and adolescents which the society does not approve and for which some kind of admonishment, punishment, or preventive and corrective measures are justified in the public interest. The research results show that the forms of juvenile delinquency: bullying, drinking alcohol, having free sex, and having sexual harassment are vividly reflected and clearly done by the main characters in the novel.

The Impact of Life Domains on Developmental Trajectories of Peer Delinquency among Korean Adolescents: A Partial Test of Agnew's General Theory of Crime and Delinquency with a Group-Based Trajectory Modeling Approach.

Agnew introduced a new integrated theory; the General Theory of Crime and Delinquency, in which he attempted to corral the most influential predictors of criminal behavior into more parsimonious propositions of multiple life domains-self, family, peer, school, and work-as well as constraints against crime and motivations for it. This study presents a partial test of the theory using longitudinal data of 2,351 Korean adolescents. A group-based modeling approach (latent class growth analysis) was run to examine direct effects of life domains on peer delinquency as well as mediating effects of constraints and motivation on their relationships. The study identified three subgroups: early onset/decreasing (3.2%), moderate (12.4%), and low/none (84.4%). The findings revealed that the self and peer domains exhibited a positive impact on the early onset/decreasing trajectory group compared to the low/none group with the constraint exhibiting a negative impact. The moderate trajectory group demonstrated that the self-domain was significant but was not rendered insignificant after controlling for constraints and motivations. The study provided moderate support for life domains within Agnew's new theory for peer delinquency in nonwestern countries.

Концепция «самосостояния» личности подростка с криминальным типом самосознания

In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, theoretical ideas about the personality of deviant and delinquent teenagers reached a new level. Methods, models and explanatory schemes of stress psychology, family psychology, pathopsychology, mental trauma, hereditary and personality deformations penetrated legal psychology along with traditional methods of age, differential, pedagogical and social psychology, in the context of which specialists tried to create universal, internally consistent theories of juvenile delinquency. However, all known attempts led to another more or less realistic private theory or approach, usually leaving unanswered questions concerning time, meaning and meaninglessness, spirituality and immorality of society, loneliness and alienation of a person. Simple explanations of the causes of crime and effective measures to combat it have been and continue to be offered. Psychological science currently demonstrates an obvious inability to answer, at least, the basic methodological questions of the personality development of adolescents. A 15-year-old teenager with a tendency to criminal behavior is likely to be the most difficult object of cognition. Internal inconsistency, ambivalence of the adolescent’s attitudes, reactions and behavior make us to pay attention to the study of his consciousness and self-consciousness, the evolution of thinking, mechanisms of reflection, the history of the life line formation again. In this context, we are developing the concept of “self-state” of a teenager personality, which goes back to the ideas of L.S. Vygotsky, as well as numerous studies by domestic and foreign authors. 
 The main objective of this article is to substantiate the concept of “adolescent personality self-state”, its validation and operationalization. As there is virtually no such concept in psychology, the validation process will consist in substantiating the basic sources and mechanisms of its emergence, as well as in reflecting those qualities of personality that are denoted by the concept of “personality self-state”.

Functions of parenting styles on patterns of general and serious delinquency trajectories: A mediated model of school climates and delinquent peer association

IntroductionThis study partially tests Agnew’s (2005, 2011) general theory of crime and delinquency, drawing out the differential roles of parenting, constraints, and motivations when comparing general delinquency trajectories and serious delinquency trajectories. MethodsUsing data from a 7-year follow-up study of 927 South Korean male adolescents, the study incorporates a group-based trajectory modeling to identify subgroups, each having a unique pattern of trajectories, respectively. ResultsThe models yielded 3 subgroups: Early onset & decreaser, Increaser & late peak, and Normative for general delinquency as well as Serious delinquent, Moderate delinquents, and Normative for serious delinquency. The results reveal that compared to Normative group, parenting styles were significant of both the Moderate and Serious delinquents groups for only serious delinquency even after controlling for constraints and motivations. The odds of belonging to both the Early-Onset & Decreaser and Increaser & Late Peak groups for general delinquency and the Moderate Delinquents group for serious delinquency were significantly higher for those who more frequently associated with delinquent peers. Depression was significant among members of the Early-Onset & Decreaser group, while school connectedness was significant among members of the Increaser & Late Peak group for general delinquency. There were no mediating role of constraints and motivations in the parent-delinquency prediction. ConclusionsIntervention programs aimed at improving parenting skills can be developed to decrease the likelihood of delinquency.

An Evaluation of Dual Systems Theories of Adolescent Delinquency in a Normative Longitudinal Cohort Study of Youth

Dual systems theories of adolescent risk-taking propose that the socioemotional and self-regulation systems develop at different rates, resulting in a peak in sensation-seeking in adolescence at a time when self-regulation abilities are not yet fully mature. This “developmental imbalance” between bottom-up drives for reward and top-down control is proposed to create a period of vulnerability for high-risk behaviors such as delinquency, substance use, unprotected sex, and reckless driving. In this study, data from the Swiss longitudinal normative z-proso study (n = 1522, n = 784 male; aged 11, 13, 15, 17, and 20) were used to test whether the presence of a developmental imbalance between sensation-seeking and self-regulation is associated with trajectories of engagement in delinquency across early adolescence to adulthood. Using a latent class growth analysis of sensation-seeking, self-regulation, and delinquency, it was found that a model with 3 classes was optimal in the whole sample and male sub-sample, including one class characterized by a developmental imbalance and corresponding adolescent peak in delinquency. In females, there was no evidence for a class that could be described according to the trajectories hypothesized in dual systems theory. This study’s results support the claim that a developmental imbalance may drive an adolescent increase in delinquency. However, this applies only to a small subgroup of individuals, particularly males.

SKCK AS AN EARLY WARNING EFFORTS OF YOUTH VIOLENCE ON FEELING

A series of ratification of laws in Indonesia from 2019 to 2020 prove that legislative work has increased rapidly, especially since there are still many laws that are still in the deliberation stage. On the other hand, the ratification has received rejection from several groups, although the objections in the form of demonstrations are protected by law and guaranteed by law, it is uncommon for demonstrations to end in anarchist actions that harm the state, society, and social environment. What is worrying is that the anarchist actions involve teenagers who are included in the underage category. According to Law No. 9 of 1998 on the freedom to express opinions in public, it does provide freedom for Indonesian citizens to express their views. However, it is unfortunate that the demonstrations that are followed by teenagers, on this matter from vocational and high school students, usually take place in a riot, even though most of them also do not notice what things they aspire from the beginning. The theories used in this journal are mass mobilization theory, freedom of speech theory, and juvenile delinquency theory. The methodology used is qualitative by processing data from primary and secondary sources. A demonstration that took place in the ribs would be a bad pretend for the development of democracy in Indonesia. Consequently, to minimize unrest with the demonstrators, the National Police tried the option to tighten the provision of SKCK(police certificate of good conduct) for rioters in demonstrations, this was aimed at being a preventative medium for students so that want to control their behavior.

Development of juvenile delinquency — causes and conditions

In the last few decades, juvenile delinquency in the Republic of Bulgaria has begun to acquire new and specific characteristics. Inexplicable cases of violence are all too common in schools, families and public places. The article analyzes a small part of the theories of juvenile delinquency that exist in the global aspect, which are based on the understanding that criminal acts are determined by mental and behavioral processes at the individual level. According to the theory of rational choice, minors are motivated offenders who subordinate their behavior to a certain goal. Another group of views is defined as theories of biological and psychological traits. Antisocial manifestations are not so much due to the course of certain motivational processes in an individual’s mental state, but primarily to the formation of individual patterns of behavior. The article aims to assist Bulgarian criminal law and criminology in clarifying the current circumstances in which juvenile delinquency develops, and the conclusion is that they do not differ significantly from those in the global context. The different perspectives on juvenile delinquency and the interdisciplinary nature of the problems are presented as objectively as possible. Such an approach can lead to a rethinking of the mechanisms and measures that should be applied to achieve the educational purpose of punishment. The analysis presented in the article also supports the introduction of alternative measures to punishment, as well as the achievement of better results in terms of resocialization of juvenile offenders.

Youth and Their Artificial Social Environmental Risk and Promotive Scores (Ya-TASERPS): An Agent-Based Model of Interactional Theory of Delinquency

Youth and Their Artificial Social Environmental Risk and Promotive Scores (Ya-TASERPS): An Agent-Based Model of Interactional Theory of Delinquency