Containment, social bond, general, power control-- Theories PDF

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Summary

After midterm lectures leading to final. All answers from the final come directly from this info and following lectures....

Description

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Containment theory is the idea that everyone has internal and external structures (i.e. forces) that hold them within the larger social structure.

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There are inner and outer forces of containment that restrain a person from committing a crime: the inner forces stem from moral and religious beliefs as well as from a personal sense of right and wrong; the outer forces come from family members, teachers, or others who influence the individual to some degree.

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Loss or corruption of elements of their external structures can “pull” people into lawbreaking activities, while internal issues can “push” them.

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Hirschi’s social bond theory is the idea that there are forces that keep people connected to social norms and values.

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What keeps youths from breaking the law. Hirschi’s answer has four elements.

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“Elements of social bonding include attachment to families, commitment to social norms and institutions (school, employment), involvement in activities, and the belief that these things are important”. Crime and delinquency occur when these bonds to conventional society are weakened or broken.

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Most youths are strongly attached to their parents. They curb the delinquent impulses because they are emotionally attached to their parents.

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This attachment is a form of indirect parental control preventing the delinquency

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Youths who are successful in school, in the community, and among their peers are more likely to stay out of trouble because they develop a commitment to the conventional lifestyle.

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Policy implications: parents and communities should find ways to give youths a stake in society, so that they feel they can be successful if they adopt law-abiding behavior.

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Social bonding relates to an individual's level of belief in the moral validity of shared social values and norms. People who strongly believe in the these norms are less likely to deviate from them. However, those who question or challenge the norms have a greater propensity to behave in a deviant manner.

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Most youths obey the law. They become delinquent, then they believe that their behavior is necessary, inevitable, or out of their control.

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Hirschi does not argue that youths believe that lawbreaking is desirable; he contends only that they do not believe it is bad Large amounts of structured time spent in socially approved activities (e.g. employment, school, soccer camps, music lessons, etc.) reduces the time available for deviance. Those who seek involvement in conventional activities are able to develop a set of values that help them resist the lure of delinquency when they have too much time on their hands.

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• General Theory •

Aka. Self-control theory.

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Developed by Gotfredson and Hirschi.

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This theory is a logical extension of Hirschi’s social bond theory.

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Emphasizes the importance of parental influence on children’s development of self-control.

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They assert that the direct parental control and enforcement of discipline has a strong influence on how the children develop self-control. Children who learn the consequences of breaking the rules are more successful in limiting their deviant behaviors

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Parents influence their children behaviors in two ways:

1- The way which parents use to supervise their children over a long period of time is crucial to shape their children’s

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personalities.

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ability to resist against temptations,

Children who are impulsive, insensitive, and non-verbal are more likely to lack the self-control.

2- The model presented by parents to their children. Parents who break the law present the model to their children. This leads to underdevelopment of the child’s self-control. Deviant parents transmit negative values to their children •

Poor parenting has indirect effect on children’s propensity for deviant behavior which they call “criminality”.

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Crime results when criminality meets opportunity.

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Low self-control is a key.

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aka. Power control

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Developed by John Hagan.

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The gender distribution of delinquency is caused by gender dynamics within the family

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Gender relations are different in egalitarian and patriarchial families. Such difference influence behaviors and socialization of children. •

theory of gender and delinquency

In the egalitarian family, the spouses are equal in terms of status, earning money, and decision making in the family. In those families, boys and girls engage in similar patterns of delinquency.

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In patriarchial families, the father would work outside the home, and the mother would be responsible for the child rearing. In such families, the children receive different messages based on their gender. Boys are encouraged to take risks and be independent, while girls are expected to be socially and economically submissive to males.

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Patriarchal families in which gender roles are distinct produce much higher levels of male delinquency than female delinquency.

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In egalitarian families, the overall level of delinquency will be lower, and the ratio of the misbehavior of boys and girls will be more equal.

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Policy implications: Family therapy sessions to reduce the level of patriarchy and encourage greater equality in the treatment of boys and girls...