Investigating the Interdependence of Strain and Self-Control

Abstract

Self-control and strain perspectives are widely viewed as independent and contrasting explanations for crime and delinquency. This paper re-evaluates the competing paradigms approach by considering the two theories as potentially complementary in explaining participation in delinquency based on Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) assumption that self-control acts as a barrier to criminal behaviour. If such a claim is valid, one would hypothesize that individuals with high self-control would be able to mediate the effects of strain and refrain from engaging in delinquent activities. In contrast, adolescents with low self-control may not be equipped with the necessary constraints to abstain from delinquency and would therefore exhibit the greatest criminal propensities. A significant interaction term would support such claims. Data from a sample of over 2,000 adolescents attending junior and senior high schools in a western Canadian city were analysed to determine the independent and contextual effects of self-control and strain on involvement in delinquent behaviour. Results suggest that both self-control and strain are important contributors to delinquency, but in an additive and not an interactive way. Such results do not seem to provide support for claims made by control theorists, who would no doubt argue that the effects of strain should be conditioned by low self-control.

Self-Control as a Predictor of Relapse and Recidivism in Adolescent Therapeutic Community Treatment

“…This shift from close parental supervision to close contact with peers provides more opportunity for delinquency to occur. Overall, research supports the association between low self-control and adolescent substance use (Benda, 2005;Gibson, Schreck, & Miller, 2004;Longshore, Chang, Hsieh, & Messina, 2004;Piquero, Gibson, & Tibbetts, 2002;Preston, 2006;Williams & Ricciardelli, 2003) and delinquency (Benda, 2002;Peter, LaGrange, & Silverman, 2003;Pratt & Cullen, 2000;Tittle & Botchkovar, 2005;Tittle, Ward, & Grasmick, 2003;Turner & Piquero, 2002).…”

The moderating effects of religiosity on the relationship between stressful life events and delinquent behavior

“…Although many aspects of the theory have not been sufficiently tested, the research that has been conducted is consistent in finding a positive relationship between strain and delinquent behavior (e.g., Agnew & White, 1992;Hoffmann & Miller, 1998;Mazerolle, Burton, Cullen, Evans, & Payne, 2000;Peter, LaGrange, & Silverman, 2003). Conversely, findings are mixed with regard to the role of conditioning effects on the strain-delinquency relationship.…”

The Interaction of Antisocial Propensity and Life‐course Varying Predictors of Delinquent Behavior: Differences by Method of Estimation and Implications for Theory*

“…First, although the life-course perspective implies that time-varying social forces affect temporal change in criminal offending, extant studies that consider the interaction between antisocial propensity and social variables typically Seq: 4 14-MAY-07 15:40 316 OUSEY AND WILCOX have not directly measured within-individual, over-time change in theorized explanatory and/or outcome variables (Agnew et al, 2002;Nagin and Paternoster, 1994;Peter, LaGrange, and Silverman, 2003;Wright et al, 2001Wright et al, , 2004; but see Piquero et al, 2002). Second, findings from past studies have been somewhat inconsistent with regard to both the existence and the direction (i.e., positive or negative) of hypothesized propensity-by-social variable interaction effects (Agnew et al, 2002;Burton et al, 1998;Grasmick et al, 1993;Li, 2004;Nagin and Paternoster, 1994;Peter, LaGrange, and Silverman, 2003;Tittle and Botchkovar, 2005;Wright et al, 2001Wright et al, , 2004. Finally, compounding the above issues, recent scholarship raises the possibility that some interaction effects observed in past studies may be "spurious" artifacts that result from the use of statistical models that poorly match the typically skewed, left-censored distributions of summative indices of delinquent behavior (Osgood, Finken, and McMorris, 2002).…”