Theory Of Informal Social Control Research Articles

Exploring The Concept of “Desistance” and Age Graded Theory of Informal Social Control by Sampson and Laub

Exploring The Concept of “Desistance” and Age Graded Theory of Informal Social Control by Sampson and Laub

Informal Social Control Impact on Young People Political Participation Integrity: Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Innovation of communication technology, especially social media offer an interactive platform for young people to participate in political activities. Lack of informal social control reported by social scientists has a significant influence on low integrity political activities such as flashing provocation, joining the street demonstration, spreading fake news, defamation, and slanders with intentionally to create damage on certain political parties. This study aims to examine the factors that determine the integrity of political participation among young people using a theoretical model based on the Informal Social Control Theory. Data relating to the constructs were collected from 388 respondents in Malaysia and subjected to Structural Equation Modelling analysis. The proposed model fits the data well. Results indicate that the important determinant of the young people’s political participation integrity is involvement. The rest three dimensions namely attachment, belief, and commitment are insignificant influences on the young people’s political participation integrity. Perhaps with literacy skills able to shape young people with integrity in political participation on social media. Finally, implications and recommendations of these findings are discussed.

Developmental and Life-Course Criminology Theory: A Literature Review

The paper reviews certain criminological life course theories. The theory of developmental pathways is based on specific trajectories that gradually, during development, lead to criminal behaviour. The age-graded theory of informal social control explains the influence of social institutions during the life course on the occurrence of criminal behaviour. The interactional theory finds that delinquency has its roots in weak social ties and delinquent networks; it is part of reciprocal continuous relationships during the life course. The dual taxonomy theory explains the continuity and changes in criminal careers and identifies two types of perpetrators. The integrative multi-layered control theory explains the development of criminal behaviour, events and crime rates through the integration of classical criminological theories. The situational action theory states that during development criminal behaviour is part of moral action. The developmental propensity theory considers the correlates of genetics and environment to delinquent behaviour. The integrated cognitive antisocial potential theory incorporates traditional criminological theories aiming to explain the unique potential for antisocial action that can lead to criminal behaviour during development.

Self-equity as a trustworthiness measure: The relationship among self-equity and security clearance eligibility adjudications in US Army recruits

ABSTRACT The United States government’s clearance adjudication process examines past behavior to determine soldier eligibility for a security clearance. For young recruits with a short-documented history, however, little information is available. While informal social controls generally associate with criminal desistance, desistance speaks little about those who have yet to offend. This work extends informal social control theory to better understand military clearance eligibility adjudication outcomes as measured in terms of a self-equity construct. This analysis looks at a twelve-year cohort of US Army recruits who received clearance eligibility adjudication within the first five years of service, as recorded in military archival data in the Person-event Data Environment (PDE) database. Laub, Rowan, & Sampson’s (2018) age-graded theory of informal social control is tested to estimate models, capturing the self-equity effects of moral waiver, qualification-test percentiles, service time, rank, education, and childbirth–marriage interaction. The results demonstrate that self-equity substantively relates to security clearance eligibility adjudication outcomes. These findings carry policy implications for the creation of an objective trustworthiness measure in the absence of reliable documented history.

The Life Course of Methamphetamine Users in Aotearoa/New Zealand: The Role of Romantic Relationships and Parenting

This paper seeks to improve understanding of how romantic relationships and parenting influence illegal drug using trajectories, and, conversely, how illegal drug use impacts on romantic relationships and parenting. This analysis is part of the first life course-based qualitative study of former methamphetamine users in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Laub and Sampson’s “age-graded theory of informal social control” is applied to data from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 35 former methamphetamine users. Analysis shows that support for the theory is relatively weak in regards to relationships (especially females), yet strong for parenting. Compared to romantic relationships, parenting is less likely to increase illegal drug use and much more likely to decrease illegal drug use. Methamphetamine exerted the most negative influence on romantic relationships and parenting. Additionally, female interviewees encountered much greater adversity in their relationships and parenting. Overall, the male partner was more likely to influence increased drug use among the female partner, whereas the female partner was more likely to influence decreased drug use among the male partner.

An Empirical Test of Age-Graded Informal Social Control Theory: New Correlates of Youth Deviance

This study examines several family structural variables that have a hypothesized effect on delinquency, substance abuse, and violence. We conducted a survey for potential correlates of Sampson and Laub’s age-graded informal social control theory variables within the Turkish context. Our large sample size (31,272), drawn from high school students in Istanbul, Turkey, allowed us to test the effects of family settings on youth deviance by using various statistical tests and programs. Our findings indicate that juveniles exposed to parental substance abuse are more likely to use illegal substances, commit a greater number of delinquent acts, and participate in more instances of violent behavior. Additionally, family social capital, residential mobility, religiosity, and the number of siblings were some other statistically significant correlates of delinquency.

Theoretical and Empirical Advances in the Study and Control of White-Collar Offenders

Over the past decade the study of white-collar crime has been undergoing a resurgence of interest, productivity, and creativity. New findings have emerged regarding the social, demographic and psychological characteristics of white-collar offenders. These findings have spurred theoretical advances in the application of standard criminological perspectives to white-collar crime, including opportunity, life course, and informal social control theory. Researchers have also made advances in understanding how white-collar offenders are treated by the justice system and how they respond to that treatment, and these advances have implications for the prevention and control of white-collar crime. In this presentation, I review these theoretical and empirical advances and suggest avenues for future research and policy on this important and harmful form of criminal behavior.

Age-Graded Informal Social Control and Motivations Among Street Sex Buyers

Sex buyers are often viewed as a single category of offenders; however, they are diverse with regard to their motivations for seeking out commercial sex. Past research also suggests that purchasing sex does not follow the age-crime curve and that men’s motivations fluctuate according to changes in informal social bonds to important social institutions. This study thus used Laub and Sampson’s 87 revised age-graded theory of informal social control as a theoretical guide for the exploration of the relationship between age, informal social control, and men’s motivations for purchasing sex. A series of ordinary least squares regressions examined if age, marriage, deviant peer association, and employment characteristics were related to the five most common motivations to purchase sex: power and control, the diversification of sexual interests, the “dirty whore” fantasy, viewing sex as a commodity, and perceived romantic inadequacy. Age was negatively associated with being motivated by power and control, but positively related to viewing sex as a commodity. Being married was positively related to the diversification of sexual interests. Deviant peer association increased scores on the perceived romantic inadequacy scale, however, reduced them on the “dirty whore” fantasy scale. Having a full-time white-collar job was negatively related to both power and control and perceived romantic inadequacy; however, white-collar employment increased scores on the diversification of sexual interests and sex as a commodity scales. Age and informal social control have differential impacts on men’s motivations for purchasing sex via the outdoor sex trade.

Exploring the Relationship Between Lasting, Quality Social Bonds and Intermittency in Offending

The current study expands the existing understanding of intermittency in offending by applying the age-graded theory of informal social control to further conceptualize and theorize intermittency. Using the Pathways to Desistance data, random effects models are used to determine whether within-individual changes and between-individual differences in the duration and quality of school, employment, and marriage/engagement are related to the time between arrests. Bonds of greater duration to school, employment, and marriage are related to longer average gaps between arrests. Transitioning into low wage employment is related to shorter periods of intermittency in the later years. On average, lower quality employment and marriages during this time period are also tied to shorter time between arrests as opposed to high quality employment and marriages.

“About Face” for Delinquent Youth: Military Service as a Turning Point Across the Life Course

The current study explores how military service can influence later criminal offending, as informed by the age-graded theory of informal social control. Specifically, the current study is testing whether military service in adulthood acts as a turning point for delinquent youths. We build off previous literature by implementing a research design that addresses important gaps in this literature, such as a more recent military population and comparing self-reported criminal offending to police contacts. Both include overall crime measures and specific crime categories. This study also examines differences in self-reported offending and arrests for different the types of service within the military. The current study uses a nationally representative sample of delinquent youths from the Add Health. We employ propensity score matching and logistic regression to test the effects of military service on self-reported criminal offending and arrests. Our results suggest that military service reduces future overall self-reported criminal offending for delinquent youths. However, the only specific category of crime influenced is drug arrests. Additionally, we find that those in the military reserves are substantially more likely to engage in drug crime than those with active duty service. The findings of the current study not only address many gaps in the current literature but also postulate a reason for the mixed findings in the literature. In addition, the results indicate that the criminal justice system may treat military servicemen and servicewomen differently than those with no military service on minor forms of crime. Limitations and policy implications are also discussed.

Social context, family process, and Turkish boys’ pathway to incarceration: an application of the age-graded theory of informal social control

ABSTRACTAlthough the juvenile delinquency problem in Turkey has become increasingly visible in the last decade, existing research on Turkish youth convicted of delinquency is still in its early stages. The purpose of this study was to apply the age-graded theory of informal social control that was developed by Sampson and Laub to the Turkish context, and to explore the role of family processes that lead young men to prison. Data are from in-depth interviews with 30 convicted juveniles in a juvenile prison. Data analysis highlighted the negative effects of specific family processes such as youth’s lack of attachment to their parents, which may result from harsh or erratic methods of discipline, and low levels of parental monitoring. The findings suggest that it is essential to implement family-oriented interventions to prevent and control serious delinquency.

A turning point for problematic alcohol users: can relationship adjustment predict desistance?

Problematic alcohol use (PAU) presents a major burden on health worldwide. Sampson and Laub’s Age-Graded Theory of Informal Social Control provides a unique lens through which to investigate desistance from PAU. This study explored the potential of relationship adjustment to act as a turning point, promoting desistance from PAU across the lifespan. Seventy-three participants (58 females, 15 males) who had previously experienced a period of PAU responded to an anonymous online survey. Contrary to the hypothesis, results showed that relationship adjustment did not act as a turning point predicting desistance from PAU across the lifespan in this sample. However, further analyses revealed that relationship adjustment did predict desistance for those aged 25 years and under. The findings provide partial support for the use of Sampson and Laub’s theory in the alcohol use literature, and highlight the importance of relationship adjustment in the drinking behaviors of youth. Replication and further research are needed. Implications for therapeutic practices, health promotion, and theoretical frameworks are discussed.

Turning Points and the Future of Life-Course Criminology

In 1986, the National Research Council published a two-volume report, Criminal Careers and “ Career Criminals.” This work generated fierce debates central to the field of criminology and pitted some of the biggest names in the business against one another. In this paper, we consider the last 30 years and ask whether the report was an intellectual turning point. Our answer is that while the report did change the methodological direction of criminology, it lacked a theoretical explanation of the dynamics of crime. After the report was published, several efforts attempted to fill this breach. We reflect on the role that the Criminal Careers report played in our own work, from the time of the report’s release to the development and assessment of what is now known as the age-graded theory of informal social control and the broader field of “life-course criminology.”

Making it on the Outside: Towards an Integrated Control Theory for Understanding the Reintegration Process

Reintegration has garnered greater attention in criminology, as many releasees from prisons are being recycled back into criminal justice systems around the world. Despite this trend, the reintegration literature to date has been mainly descriptive and few studies have paid attention to the theoretical dynamics and social context surrounding reintegration. To address this gap, we suggest that the prominent debate, mainly found in American criminology, on crime causation between Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) General Theory of Crime (GTC) and Sampson and Laub's (1993) and Laub and Sampson's (2003) Age-Graded Theory of Informal Social Control (AGTISC) be used to advance this largely atheoretical literature. After showing that research exploring the effects of self-control and informal social control on reintegration remains largely uncharted territory in criminological theory, we propose an integrated control theory, in addition to some methodological considerations, for better understanding reintegration.

Human Agency and Explanations of Criminal Desistance: Arguments for a Rational Choice Theory

Extant theoretical work on desistance from crime has emphasized social processes such as involvement in adult social bonds or pro-social relationships, with very little attention given to individual subjective processes such as one’s identity. The desistance theories of Sampson and Laub and Giordano seem to have reached the point of consensual acceptance in the field. Theoretical work within the past 5 years, however, have begun to stress the role of identity and human agency in the desistance process including Paternoster and Bushway’s (2009) identity theory of desistance (ITD), which offers a rational choice perspective on how offenders quit crime. This paper provides a critical theoretical assessment of both the age-graded informal social control theory of desistance and the theory of cognitive and emotional transformation, illuminating the critical theoretical omissions and empirical inconsistencies in each. We suggest that the apparent consensus in the criminological literature regarding desistance theory may be premature and highlight the advantages provided by theories that emphasize the internal cognitive dimensions of change including the ITD.

The effects of marriage and parenthood on offending levels over time among juvenile offenders across race and ethnicity

In criminal careers research, reasons why offenders stop offending are of importance. This study tests Sampson and Laub's age-graded theory of informal social control using a nationally representative contemporaneous sample and explores two possible turning points in the life course of individuals that could lead to desistance: marriage and parenthood. Racial and ethnic differences in the impact of these social bonds are also analyzed. In mixed support of the theory, marriage is found to lead to changes in levels of offending among whites and Hispanics but not blacks. Parenthood leads to decreases in offending among whites but not blacks or Hispanics. These results suggest possible modifications are needed to Sampson and Laub's theory. A discussion of these findings is presented.

Desistance in the Transition to Adulthood: The Roles of Marriage, Military, and Gender

Research is needed on desistance from crime comparatively by gender. This research uses a national longitudinal sample of youth transitioning to adulthood. Drawing on Sampson and Laub's Age-Graded Theory of Informal Social Control, social bonds found in marriage and military involvement are examined to determine if they decrease delinquency over time. The results for the full sample revealed that marriage but not military involvement led to desistance. However, gender sub-sample analyses further showed military enlistment led females, but not males, to desist from crime. Implications and future research aims are discussed.

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO: ROMANTIC DISSOLUTION, OFFENDING, AND SUBSTANCE USE DURING THE TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD*

Recent studies have directed attention to the nature of romantic involvement and its implications for offending over the life course. However, this body of research has overlooked a defining aspect of nonmarital romantic relationships: Most come to an end. By drawing on insights from general strain theory, the age‐graded theory of informal social control, and research on delinquent peer exposure, we explore the impact of romantic dissolution on offending and substance use during late adolescence and emerging adulthood. Using data from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we arrive at three general conclusions: 1) Experiencing a breakup is directly related to a range of antisocial outcomes; 2) the effect of a breakup is dependent on post‐breakup relationship transitions; and 3) a breakup is associated with increases in offending and substance use among males and in substance use among females. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings for the future of research on romantic involvement and crime over the life course.

Marriage and Offending among a Cohort of Disadvantaged African Americans

Drawing on Sampson and Laub's age-graded theory of informal social control, this research tests the generalizability of the marriage effect on desistance from crime. Specifically, do urban African American men and women living in the United States benefit from marriage similarly to Whites? The authors use hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to analyze the relationship between marriage and official arrest counts among African American male and female first graders from Woodlawn, an inner-city community in Chicago, first assessed in 1966 and followed up at three time points (ages 16, 32, and 42). The authors find strong evidence of a marriage effect for the males across crime type, with a reduction in offending between 21 percent and 36 percent when in a state of marriage. The findings for females were less consistent across crime type, a 10 percent reduction in the odds of a property arrest and a 9 percent increase in the odds of a drug arrest when in a state of marriage. Their findings provide evidence in favor of the generality of Sampson and Laub's theory, at least for males. However, the authors were not able to evaluate the mechanisms of desistance and identify this as an area of future research.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and criminal behaviour: the role of adolescent marginalization

Prior research has established a strong link between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and criminal behaviour. Drawing on two key theories of life-course criminology — Moffitt’s (1993) dual taxonomy and Sampson and Laub’s (1993) age-graded theory of informal social control — the purpose of the present study was to examine the aetiology of this association. Consistent with Moffitt’s theory, we found the effect of ADHD on crime to be substantial and moderated by cognitive deficits (low verbal ability). Adolescent social bonds — variables derived from Sampson and Laub’s theory — did not mediate the interaction effect. However, in support of age-graded theory, we found that adolescent social marginalization contributes significantly to criminal behaviour independently of early childhood measures of criminal propensity.