Social Control Theory Research Articles

The potential influence of criminological rationales in considering childhood abuse as mitigating to sentencing

BackgroundU.S. courts currently show no coherent approach with regard to how evidence of childhood abuse is considered in sentencing. Existing state and federal caselaw suggests that courts rarely place significant consideration on evidence of childhood abuse during sentencing, but the reasons why offenders who have been subjected to childhood abuse rarely receive mitigated or alternative sentences remain unknown. Yet literature has suggested it might be because no convincing rationales have been yet developed for the court in contending that penalties of offenders who were subjected to childhood abuse should be mitigated. ObjectiveThis research examines if and how criminological theoretical perspectives linking childhood abuse and later offending (Social Control Theory, Social Learning Theory, General Strain Theory) are persuasive in arguing childhood abuse (neglect, witnessing trauma, sexual abuse, physical abuse) as mitigating to criminal sentencing. ParticipantsA national sample of U.S. adults (N = 521). MethodsA multi-factorial, vignette-based experiment was conducted, utilizing OLS and mediation analyses. ResultsEvidence on childhood abuse, and particularly sexual abuse, reduced support for incapacitation (B = -0.13, p ≤ 0.05) and increased support for rehabilitation (B = 0.16, p ≤ 0.01). Social Control Theory was particularly persuasive in arguing childhood abuse as mitigating to prison time and in relation to support for rehabilitative sentencing (mediated by beliefs regarding what the theory conveys about future dangerousness and reduced responsibility). ConclusionsCriminological theories appear to be persuasive rationales for arguing childhood abuse as mitigating to sentencing contexts involving incapacitation and rehabilitation. Implications for sentencing guidelines and systems are discussed.

Mediating role of guest’s attitude toward the impact of UGC benefits on purchase intention of restaurants; Extending social action and control theories

ABSTRACT The User-Generated Content (UGC) like videos, text, images, experience that has been uploaded by the earlier users of a product on an online platform plays an important role in sales of the restaurants. On this aspect, the current paper investigated the role of mediation in the impact of UGC benefits on Purchase Intention of Restaurants across the Kashmir division of Jammu and Kashmir, India, to determine whether a guest’s attitude acts as mediation in between UGC benefits and Purchase Intention of Restaurants or not. A survey instrument was administered to 400 tourists/guests who visited hotel restaurants, out of which a total of 330 responses was judged as usable. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and other descriptive techniques. Also, the different theories like Social Action Theory and Social Control Theory were validated, which proved the results of this study are consistent with these theories, i.e., SAT, and SCT. This study also highlights that there is an impact on guests’ attitude in the relationship of UGC benefits and Purchase Intention of restaurants.

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.

Better Together? Intimate Partner Effects on Offending Women

The role of marriage has been extensively studied for its positive impacts on male desistance. However, the role of romantic partners for women is less understood. Do partners exert a prosocial “protective” effect or are they criminogenic? The present study empirically drills down on this question. Specifically, we assess the character and quality of romantic relationships on substance use and illegitimate income using a sample of incarcerated women. Drawing from social control, social learning, and strain theory, we hypothesize that the effects of both being in and breaking up from a relationship on illicit behavior are conditional on the quality of the relationship and behavior/characteristics of the partner. Using data from the Women’s Experience of Violence (WEV) project, consisting of a custodial sample of criminal justice-involved women (N = 770), we examine how relationship status and quality, as well as partner offending, influence drug use and illicit earnings. A series of multi-level random effects models are estimated to explore how within-person changes in relationship/breakup status are related to changes in the two dependent variables. Contrary to expectations, we find that romantic dissolution (of either a high- or low-quality relationship) does not negatively impact this sample of women and that being in a high-quality relationship is not a protective factor, as has been found often in male samples. Findings suggest partner behavior may be more important than the quality of the relationship with the partner. Our results link drug use and participation in the illicit economy to factors mostly outside of a woman’s relationship status and quality, thereby challenging some commonly understood mechanisms of desistance.

Cyberbullying Victimization and Non-suicidal Self-Injurious Behavior Among Chinese Adolescents: School Engagement as a Mediator and Sensation Seeking as a Moderator.

Although a large body of research has indicated that cyberbullying victimization is a crucial risk factor for adolescent non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior, the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. To address this research gap, this study, based on the social control theory and the organism-environment interaction model, was designed to test whether school engagement mediated the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and adolescent NSSI and whether this mediating effect was moderated by sensation seeking. A sample of 1,102 adolescents (Mage = 13.17; SD = 0.69) anonymously completed the questionnaires. The results showed that the positive association between cyberbullying victimization and adolescent NSSI was mediated by school engagement. Moreover, this indirect link was significant for adolescents with high-level sensation seeking but non-significant for adolescents with low-level sensation seeking. These findings highlight school engagement as a potential mechanism linking cyberbullying victimization to adolescent NSSI, and high sensation seeking was an important risk factor to amplify this indirect effect. Intervention programs aimed at reducing NSSI among adolescents may benefit from the current research.

Parental and kinship ties, and low self-control: Violence perpetration among rural African American adolescents from the Black Belt

IntroductionA substantial body of research supports both social control and self-control theories in explaining violent or deviant behaviors. Most previous work has focused on the links between family ties or bonds and deviance, along with low self-control. A potentially untested and overlooked bond is the extended kinship network, particularly among African American youth. The current study tested the extent to which kinship ties explained unique variability in violence perpetration, net the effects by family ties, low self-control, and background variables. MethodsData were collected from rural African American adolescents enrolled in a poor, rural public school located in the Black Belt in the Southeastern United States. The sample included N = 610 adolescents (55.9% female; Mage = 15.64, SD = 1.74). ResultsFindings from hierarchical regressions provided evidence that kinship ties explained unique variance in violence perpetration, above and beyond the effects of parental support and low self-control. ConclusionsStudy findings provide some support for the unique importance of kinship ties in understanding variability in adolescent violence perpetration in this sample of poor, rural African American adolescents. Thus, they highlight a potentially unique extra-familial source of socialization and social control; this finding, in particular, has important theoretical and practical implications for prevention and intervention efforts targeting violent behaviors among rural African American youth.

The Role of Society towards Incest Crime Prevention Based on Social Control Theory

Criminal law policy regulates the crime of incest, crime is a social phenomenon that has developed in society since ancient times until now. The crime of incest is a sexual relationship committed by two people who are still in a relationship or blood relationship or marriage. The legal research method used, which is normative-empirical, is basically a combination of a normative legal approach with the addition of various empirical elements. The crime of incest, a crime that often occurs but many are not made public. Here the researcher states that incestuous crime requires an important role from society by using social control theory. Control theory refers to any perspective that discusses controlling human behavior, the object (target) of social control. Judging from the number of incest cases, it turns out that the community or family members of victims of incest crimes are still unwilling or afraid to report this crime because they feel ashamed/disgraced so that this crime is not entirely processed legally. In the theory of social control, it is also necessary to understand or socialize the law against the crime of incest.

Representation, Incorporation, and Corrections Spending: The Counterbalancing Effect of Black Political Incorporation

AbstractTheories concerning the adoption of punitive policies at the state level often cite two dynamics: conservative ideology and racial threat, that punitive policies are more likely in states with Republican politicians and a higher proportion of Black residents. I argue these theories lose their explanatory power in the post-Civil Rights era, and suggest Black political incorporation acts as a powerful antidote to the punitive impulses of government officials. I test my hypotheses on a dataset of state corrections spending from 1983 to 2011 and find evidence for the counterbalancing argument. States with increasing percentages of Black state legislators spend .36 fewer dollars per capita on corrections, suggesting Black political incorporation is an important mediator in the relationship between racial threat and corrections budgets. This paper has implications for the application of the social control theory as descriptive representation grows, but also for the study of the effect of minority politicians on budgets and policy more broadly. The adoption of policies deleterious to certain communities can be mitigated by the presence of representatives who legislate on behalf of those communities.

Relationship between Principals’ Democratic Leadership Style and Students’ Conformity to Rules in Public Secondary Schools in Nakuru County, Kenya.

This study sought to examine the relationship between principals' democratic leadership style and students' conformity to regulations in public secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the Social Control theory by Hirschi (1969). The study adopted a correlational research design. The target population was 338 principals, 338 deputy principals, 3426 teachers and 116,374 students in 338 public secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. 100 schools were selected using stratified random sampling. Purposive sampling was used to select 100 Principals, while proportionate and simple random sampling was used to select 346 teachers and 383 students. Ten per cent of the Deputy Principals were selected. Questionnaires were used to collect data form Principals, teachers, and students, while interviews were used to collect data from Deputy Principals. Test-retest reliability revealed a coefficient of 0.70, indicating that the instruments were reliable. The findings revealed a statistically significant between principals use of democratic leadership style and students’ conformity to school rules (r=0.334; p< 0.05. It was concluded that the democratic leadership style, when used by principals in public secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya, enhances students' conformity to school rules. The findings will help school principals to fully embrace democratic leadership style to enhance students’ conformity to school rules. The study also recommends that the administration develops a process for handling students’ non-conformity issues in a calm, consistent and supportive manner. The study also recommends, principals should involve all stakeholders, for instance, teachers, students and parents in developing school rules and policies that affect students.

Relationship between Principals’ Transactional Leadership Style and Students’ Conformity to Rules in Public Secondary Schools in Nakuru County, Kenya.

This study sought to determine the relationship between principals’ transactional leadership style and students' conformity to rules in Public Secondary Schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study was underpinned on the Social Control Theory by Hirschi (1969). The study adopted a correlational research design. The target population of this study was 338 principals, 338 deputy principals, 3426 teachers and 116,374 students in 338 public secondary schools in Nakuru County. Stratified random sampling was used to select 100 schools. Purposive sampling was used to select 100 principals while Proportionate, and simple random sampling was used to select 346 teachers and 383 students. Ten per cent of the deputy principals were selected. Questionnaires were used to collect data from principals, teachers and students, while interviews were used to collect data from Deputy Principals. Test-retest reliability had a coefficient of 0.70, indicating that the instruments were reliable. The finding revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between transactional leadership style and students’ conformity to school rules r (=0.410; p=0.000). It was concluded that principals' transactional leadership style significantly relates to students' conformity to school rules. Provision of rewards and recognition constantly to students who conform to school rules and reprimand to those students who do not conform to school rules by the principal is necessary. The study recommends that the principal should be willing to use suspension and even repeated suspension where necessary as a tool for dealing with students demonstrating chronic behaviour problems that disrupt the school climate.

Самоконтроль и криминальные наклонности: лонгитюдное исследование мер общественного воздействия, направленных на повышение самоконтроля

The rationale inspiring treatment for anti-social behavior is rooted in a sociogenic understanding of behavior. Community based mentoring programs begin with this assumption. This study addresses the theoretical debate between psychogenic and sociogenic arguments of anti-social behavior. The psychogenic arguments defining self-control found in the general theory of crime get compared to the sociogenic assumptions of social control theory. This paper frames self- and social control as two sides of the same social psychological coin, suggesting that key value-identities represent the core of self-control. A year of panel data were gathered from 173 children participating in a community-based mentoring program. Of key interest, this study provides an analysis of children facing acute risk for anti-social outcomes, including a group of children impacted by parental incarceration. Results find that self-control varies along different trajectories for different children across a year of social intervention, questioning the relative stability assumption in self-control theory. Children unimpacted by parental incarceration experience increases in self-control across a year of mentoring while children impacted by parental incarceration experience declines in self-control. Results suggest that social intervention programs serving children at-risk for intergenerational crime need to take a cue from clinical treatment models targeting criminogenic needs.

Do Social Bonds Matter? Social Control Theory and Its Relationship to Desistance From Substance Abuse in China

This study examines the effects of social bonds on drug users’ desistance from substance abuse, with a special focus on testing the applicability of social control theory in the context of China. Using data from a sample of 419 Chinese drug users, this study reveals salient influences of such bonding variables as familial attachment, involvement, belief, and parenthood on drug users’ confidence and efforts in achieving abstinence, providing some support for the arguments of social control theory. Given the limitations of institutional response in dealing with substance abuse issues, these findings have important policy implications for the direction of efforts to encourage desistance-related behavior among substance abusers.

Risk factors associated with youth gang involvement: An exploratory criminological case study analysis

This study explored risk factors for youth gang involvement in the South African setting. Participants were five youth male gang members (between 21 to 24 years) from Gauteng province, South Africa. We interviewed them on childhood experiences they perceived to predispose them to community gang membership, prison gang membership, and future reoffending behaviour. Four main themes emerged from the data analysis (i) push factors into gang activities, (ii) pull factors into community gang membership, (iii) prison gang membership factors, and (iv) risks for future criminality. These factors were overlapping in increasing risks for gang involvement and further offending for offenders with limited education, a life of crime and violence, substance abuse, criminal associations, disregard for conventional norms and values, and poor self-control. Findings are consistent with social control theory, which would predict risk for youth involvement and reoffending from youth gang members’ insecure and weakened bonds to conventional society, including family, peers, and the school.

The “Screen”ing of You and Me: Effects of COVID-19 on Counterproductive Work Behaviors

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced countries into a lockdown and organizations into crisis management. Several sudden and restrictive changes in the organizations threaten to induce suspicion and fear amongst the employees; diminishing their levels of trust and social cohesion within the organizations and increasing feelings of isolation. In this article, we discuss some of the prominent changes in organizations triggered by the COVID-19 restrictions, and reflect on the implications of these restrictions for organizations and their employees. We draw upon the social control theory (SCT) to examine how the changes in the work environment influence the social bond between employees, along the four salient dimensions of attachment, involvement, commitment, and belief. We focus on how these changes are increasing the likelihood of employee deviations from organizational norms in ways detrimental to the employees and the organizations. Managing in a post-COVID-19 work environment would require incorporating the manifold effects of social distancing, strict surveillance measures to monitor employee work and the widespread use of technology to support work from home. Organizations would need to adopt several measures to demonstrate care and concern for their employees. Leader's role, more than ever before, has become crucial in supporting employees to cope with the sudden changes, adapt to the new work arrangements, and build team bonds despite the challenges. Timely interventions by leaders to respond proactively to alleviate employee fears, build trust, and improve the physical and mental well-being of their employees could help to keep the counterproductive behaviors in check.

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.

Common Cause? Policymaking Discourse and the Prison/Welfare Trade-Off

This article advances our understanding of the well-documented trade-off between welfare and prisons by analyzing US congressional hearings on welfare and criminal justice policies in two periods: the “Great Society” of 1961–67 and the “neoliberal” era of 1981–96. Comparing policymakers’ conceptions about the causes of poverty and crime, about poor and criminal populations, and about the proper role of government, the findings show that conceptions across policy domains are similar in each period and have changed in similar ways over time. These changes correspond to markedly different policy responses to poverty and crime in the two periods, favoring welfare over prisons in the earlier period and prisons over welfare in the later period. The article discusses the implications for an understanding of the punitive turn in public policies, for theories of social control, and for research on the role of ideas in policymaking.

Perceived school climate and delinquency among Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation analysis of moral disengagement and effortful control

Although scholarly interest in the association between perceived school climate and adolescent delinquency is growing, research on how and for whom perceived school climate relates to delinquency is underdeveloped. Based on social control theory and the general theory of crime, the present study established a moderated mediation model to examine whether moral disengagement would mediate the relationship between perceived school climate and delinquency and whether the mediation process would be moderated by effortful control. A total of 1529 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 14.74 years, SD = 1.48) from seven middle and high schools completed anonymous questionnaires on perceived school climate, moral disengagement, effortful control, and delinquency. After controlling for gender, age, and socioeconomic status, the results indicated that: (a) perceived school climate was negatively related to adolescent delinquency; (b) the relationship between perceived school climate and delinquency was partially mediated by adolescent moral disengagement; and (c) effortful control moderated the direct and indirect relationships between perceived school climate and adolescent delinquency, such that these relationships were only significant for adolescents with low levels of effortful control. These findings shed light on how and for whom perceived school climate is associated with adolescent delinquency, and they can inspire practitioners to pay attention to the interaction of social control (e.g., perceived school climate) and self-control (e.g., effortful control) when providing prevention and intervention.

Understanding and Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) among University Students: A Peace Building Perspective

Campus violence and rising trends of extremism in Pakistani society is an alarming problem. The violent behavior of youth on campus is viewed as a product of sociopolitical, economic and cultural structure of the state. The purpose of this research is to analyze the root cause of violence and extremism on campus in the view of academia and it also studies the causal impact of imposition of legal punishments in deterring future crime in the case of Pakistani society. Descriptive design has been used and semi structured interviews were conducted from the political science, sociology and criminology academic experts working in leading universities in Pakistan to identify the major factors behind increase in extremism among university students. Secondary data was collected from books, journals and articles. Through analyzing deterrence as a theory of punishment and social control theory and applying Nested model for conflict analysis, it was concluded that incidents of campus violence is not only a social disorder faced on campus but a threat to national interest of the state. Based on the data collected the peace building approach has been analyzed and it has been recommended that the government, criminal justice system and civil society need to adopt a sensitive policy towards the problems of campus violence and extremism and if cured can represent the soft image of Pakistan on global forums.

Dine and Dash: An Exploratory Application of Three Criminological Theories

ABSTRACT In this exploratory study, we tested the relevance of social learning, rational choice, and social control theories as explanations of “dining and dashing,” an act that has substantial financial implications for the restaurant industry yet one that has received almost no empirical attention. Dine and dash is defined as people using a food and/or beverage service that is expected to be paid for and leaving the premises with no intention of returning to pay. Using a survey sample of 358 undergraduate and graduate students from a Canadian university, we found partial support for social learning and rational choice theories. Individuals who knew someone else who had dined and dashed were more likely to dine and dash themselves (social learning theory) (OR = 17.85, p < .001). When a person thought they would suffer consequences (e.g., paying a fine), they were less likely to dine and dash (rational choice theory) (OR = 0.76, p < .001). Those who considered the benefits of dining and dashing were more likely to dine and dash (OR = 1.24, p < .01). No variables drawn from social control theory were related to dining and dashing.

PENYIMPANGANAN PERILAKU REMAJA DI PERKOTAAN

Adolescents as the next generation have an important role in the development of the nation. On the other hand, they frequently face social problems. The socialization they make sometimes deviates from the values, the norms prevailing in the society. The problems of this study are what factors causing the behavioral deviation of the urban adolescent, what several of the behavioral deviation of the urban adolescent, and what efforts should be taken to overcome the behavioral deviation of the urban adolescent. This study aims to determine the factors causing the behavioral deviation of the urban adolescent, to know the several of the behavioral deviations of the urban adolescent, and to find out the efforts to overcome the behavioral deviation of the urban adolescent. The theoretical basis used in examining the problems is the theory of social control and labeling theory. This study used a qualitative method. The data source was obtained from library research. The data were analyzed with the qualitative descriptive presentation technique. The result of this study showed that the deviation of adolescent behavior in urban areas is increasing highly. Several of the behavioral deviation of the urban adolescent such as juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, brawl, drunkenness, and smoking. The motives are such as the failure of socialization, weak of social control (no controller), and labeling to someone who tends to identify himself as the one who does deviation by society.