The Interconnected Development of Personal Controls and Antisocial Behavior

2018 ◽  
pp. 192-223
Author(s):  
Marc Le Blanc
Keyword(s):  
Control Theory ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Antisocial Behavior ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Personal Control ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Antisocial Behaviors ◽  
Systemic Theory ◽  
Definitive Statement

This chapter describes a multidisciplinary, multilayered, and developmental theoretical journey inspired by Travis Hirschi’s book, Causes of Delinquency (1969). It first discusses the conceptual roots and meta-control theory that emerged from this journey. The chapter then presents a definitive statement of a systemic theory of the development of antisocial behavior—particularly the argument that the mechanisms and courses of the development of offending apply to all forms of antisocial behaviors. Next, the chapter specifies the content of an integrative personal control theory and the development of self-control and social control. It also reviews the mechanism of the developmental interaction between the self and social control systems based on the chaos-order perspective. Finally, this chapter discusses the importance of its personal control theory for criminology and sequels to this theoretical and empirical journey.

The Generality of the Self-Control Theory of Crime

2018 ◽  
pp. 49-94
Author(s):  
David F. Greenberg ◽  
Robin Tamarelli ◽  
Margaret S. Kelley
Keyword(s):  
Control Theory ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Theory Of Crime

PREVENTING PTSD: THE VALUE OF INNER RESOURCEFULNESS AND A SENSE OF PERSONAL CONTROL OF A SITUATION. IS IT A MATTER OF PROBLEM-SOLVING OR ANXIETY MANAGEMENT?

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham J. Ness ◽  
Norman Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Personal Control ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Common Pattern ◽  
Control Scale ◽  
Case Series Study ◽  
Life Threatening

The accounts of five subjects who survived life threatening experiences without the development of PTSD were examined, focusing on the coping strategies and cognitions described in these situations. The study aimed to determine whether there was a common pattern of response amongst subjects in these situations similar to the cognitive patterns described by the senior author of the previous case study (Ness & Macaskill, 2000) who survived a near drowning experience without the development of PTSD. In the search for common coping strategies all five respondents in the study completed the Locus of Control Scale (Rotter, 1966) and the Self-Control Schedule (Fisher & Reason, 1988). All five respondents demonstrated the use of problem solving as their main cognitive strategy, utilizing specific information from their previous experience relevant to their life-threatening situation. Respondents did not appear to rely on coping strategies aimed at the management of acute anxiety symptomatology. There was no common pattern among respondents in profiles on the Self-Control Schedule or the Locus of Control Scale. The possible implications of this case series study are discussed in relation to opportunities for the prevention of PTSD, the use of debriefing and the treatment of post-traumatic stress.

Parental Self-Control and the Development of Male Aggression in Early Childhood: A Longitudinal Test of Self-Control Theory

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 935-957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan C. Meldrum ◽  
Marjolein Verhoeven ◽  
Marianne Junger ◽  
Marcel A. G. van Aken ◽  
Maja Deković
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Control Theory ◽  
Longitudinal Data ◽  
Antisocial Behavior ◽  
Parenting Practices ◽  
Childhood Aggression ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Male Aggression ◽  
Child Aggression ◽  
Indirect Association

A number of studies have evaluated associations between parenting practices, adolescent self-control, and adolescent antisocial behavior. Yet, few studies have examined associations between these constructs in early childhood or examined the extent to which both maternal and paternal self-control shapes them. To address these gaps, the current study utilizes longitudinal data collected on a sample of 117 Dutch boys and their parents to investigate the across time interrelationships between parental self-control, ineffective parenting, child self-control, and child aggression. The results provide evidence of an indirect association between maternal self-control and early childhood self-control through maternal ineffective parenting, an indirect association between maternal ineffective parenting and early childhood aggression through early childhood self-control, and an indirect association between maternal self-control and early childhood aggression through both maternal ineffective parenting and early childhood self-control. In contrast, paternal self-control and paternal ineffective parenting were unrelated to child self-control and child aggression. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

scholarly journals CAPACITY, MORAL RESPONSIBILITY AND THE CRIMINAL LAW

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-68
Author(s):  
James Slater
Keyword(s):  
Moral Responsibility ◽  
Control Theory ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Moral Significance ◽  
Capacity Theory ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Complete Account

This article is concerned with the conflict between two theories of moral responsibility for wrongdoing, one of which I shall term the shallow capacity theory and the other the self-control theory. This conflict is of interest for two reasons. First, and fundamentally, it is important from the perspective of moral philosophy: in this regard, I will argue that the shallow capacity theory is incomplete, and as a result inferior to the self-control theory, which offers a complete account of moral responsibility for wrongdoing. Secondly, given the criminal law’s interest in moral responsibility and blame, I will argue that the self-control theory offers two important insights for the criminal law, insights that the shallow capacity theory does not provide. First, it offers the most accurate understanding of the moral significance of killing under provocation, and thus the best framework for understanding the partial defence of provocation. Secondly, it demonstrates that there is a need in the criminal law for a defence based on radical impairment of an agent’s capacity for self-control, and in so doing offers a vital insight into the notion of a partial denial of moral responsibility. It should be noted that these insights for the criminal law emerge from those features of the self-control theory that make it superior to the shallow capacity theory as a theory of moral responsibility.

Self Control, Social Control, Morality, and Opportunity in a Choice Theory of Crime

2019 ◽  
pp. 112-128
Author(s):  
Michael Gottfredson ◽  
Travis Hirschi
Keyword(s):  
Control Theory ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Situational Crime Prevention ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Social Control Theory ◽  
Theory Of Crime ◽  
Common Logic ◽  
Crime Causation

Control theory is consistent with the notion of situational crime prevention and many of the ideas that support it. This chapter discusses several contemporary issues in control theory, including the connection between self-control theory and social control theory, the connection between morality and crime, and the role and conception of the opportunity or situational factors in a choice theory of crime causation. It is concluded that self and social control are the same theory operating under common logic, assumptions, and terms. Efforts to show them as competing are misguided. How situational causes are integrated into control theory and the connections among belief, morality, and self control are explored.

Methods and Measures in Testing a General Theory of Crime

2019 ◽  
pp. 31-50
Author(s):  
Michael Gottfredson ◽  
Travis Hirschi
Keyword(s):  
General Theory ◽  
Control Theory ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Theory Testing ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
General Theory Of Crime ◽  
Prior Record ◽  
Theory Of Crime

Self control is a consistent, robust, and substantial cause of crime, and the foundational facts and other dimensions of the self-control theory of crime have found remarkable support in behavioral science. However, not all scholars view the evidence in the same way, and there have been several challenges to the expectations of the theory that merit consideration. Some of these challenges are important for what they say about the limits and contours of the theory; others are important for what they say about the process of theory testing in modern criminology. This chapter discusses methodological issues in testing general theories in criminology. This is followed by a discussion on how to conceptualize control variables and antecedent causes for research. Next, the scope and domain of a theory as relevant to its validity are discussed. In addition, the importance of the definitions of self control and crime is presented. The roles of prior record and of versatility in theory testing are then examined. Finally, a discussion of the tautology issue in self-control theory is presented.

Psychosocial Control Characteristics of Delinquents and Nondelinquents

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANITA S. MAK
Keyword(s):  
Control Theory ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Impulse Control ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Personal Control ◽  
Young Offenders ◽  
Social Control Theory ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
Occupational Expectations ◽  
The Law

Previous research into control theory has primarily employed self-reported delinquency data and recruited students rather than young offenders as subjects. It has been uncertain if the control approach is useful in understanding the behavior of truly delinquent young offenders. The present study examined the psychosocial control characteristics of 103 pairs of official delinquents and nondelinquents matched on social background. Delinquents were found to have lower levels of personal and social control than nondelinquents. Delinquents were more impulsive, were less attached to their parents, liked school less, and had lower educational and occupational expectations and weaker beliefs in the moral validity of the law. These findings provide further evidence of the utility of extending Hirschi's (1969) social control theory to include personal control characteristics, particularly impulse control.

Social Control and Self-Control Theory

2018 ◽  
pp. 111-118
Author(s):  
Travis Hirschi ◽  
Michael R. Gottfredson
Keyword(s):  
Control Theory ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Self Control
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