Fifty Years of Causes of Delinquency, Volume 25

The Criminology of Travis Hirschi

James C. Oleson, Barbara J. Costello, James C. Oleson, Barbara J. Costello

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780367031015
• eBook ISBN: 9780429670404
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

This volume marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Travis Hirschi's seminal work Causes of Delinquency. The influence of Hirschi's book, and the theory of social control it described, can scarcely be overstated. Social control theory has been empirically tested or commented on by hundreds of scholars and is generally regarded as one of the three dominant theories of crime.

The current work highlights the impact that social control theory has had on criminological theory and research to date. Agnew's contribution highlights the role that Hirschi's tests of control versus strain theory had in contributing to the "near demise" of classic strain theories, and to the subsequent development of general strain theory. Serrano-Maillo relates control to drift, and Tedor and Hope compare the human nature assumptions of control theory to the current psychological literature. Other contributions return to Hirschi's original Richmond Youth Survey (RYS) data and demonstrate the robustness of Hirschi's major findings. Costello and Anderson find strong support for Hirschi's predictions in an analysis of a diverse group of youths in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 1999; Nofziger similarly finds support for Hirschi's predictions with an analysis of the girls in the RYS, and explores the criticisms of social control theory that were the result of Hirschi's failure to analyze the data from the girls in the sample. Kempf-Leonard revisits her seminal 1993 survey of control theory and reviews the current empirical status of control theory. Other contributions explore new directions for both social control theory and self-control theory. The contribution by Cullen, Lee, and Butler holds that one element of the social bond, commitment, was under-theorized by Hirschi, and the authors present a more in-depth development of the concept. Quist explores the possibility of expanding social control theory to explicitly incorporate exchange theory concepts; Ueda and Tsutomi apply control theory cross-culturally to a sample of Japanese students; and Felson uses control theory to organize criminological ideas. Vazsonyi and Javakhishvili's contribution is an empirical analysis of the connections between social control in early childhood and self-control later in life; Chapple and McQuillan's contribution suggests that the gender gap in delinquency is better explained by increased controls in girls than by gendered pathways to offending. Oleson traces the evolution of Hirschi's control theory, and suggests that, given the relationships between fact and theory, a biosocial model of control might be a promising line of inquiry.

Fifty Years of Causes of Delinquency: The Criminology of Travis Hirschi describes the current state of control theory and suggests its future directions, as well as demonstrates its enduring importance for criminological theory and research. The volume will be of interest to scholars working in the control theory tradition as well as those critical of the perspective, and is suitable for use in graduate courses in criminological theory.

Part I
Social Control Theory―A Look Back

1
The Rise of Social Control Theory, Fall of Classic Strain Theory, and Reconciliation Between Social Control and General Strain Theories

Robert Agnew

Hirschi’s (2009[1969]) Causes of Delinquency is best known for its presentation and test of a new version of social control theory, a theory that remains one of the leading explanations of crime. But Causes of Delinquency not only advances control theory, it also attacks alternative theories. The major alternative at the time was classic strain theory, as represented in the work of Merton (1938), Cohen (1955), and Cloward and Ohlin (1960). While these works differ in important ways, they all argue that much crime results from the inability to achieve conventional success goals through legitimate channels. Hirschi draws a major distinction between classic strain and control theories. Classic strain theory assumes that individuals vary in their motivation for crime, with some being pressured into crime by the inability to achieve their success goals. Control theories assume that all individuals are motivated to engage in crime; crime is instead explained by variation in social controls. Given this difference, Hirschi argues that control and strain theories can never be reconciled.

Hirschi devotes the bulk of Causes of Delinquency to testing social control and classic strain theories. He finds much support for control theory, but little support for classic strain theory. These findings contributed to the rise of social control theory and the fall of classic strain theory. This chapter begins with a brief review of Hirschi’s social control theory and the data in support of it. It then examines Hirschi’s critique of classic strain theory. Finally, it questions the deep divide between control and strain theories that Hirschi posits. Hirschi’s work contributed to the rise of general strain theory, a version of strain theory more compatible with control theory. And general strain and social control theories are said to be intimately related, so much so that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between them.

The Rise of Social Control Theory and Fall of Classic Strain Theory

Causes of Delinquency presents a new version of social control theory, one that draws on prior control theories but addresses the concerns that Hirschi has about the conceptualization of controls in these theories. Hirschi, for example, notes problems with concepts such as “internal control,” “indirect control,” “personal controls,” and “direct control” (2009, pp. 19, 87–88). Hirschi argues that there are four major types of control or bonds to conventional society: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Individuals high in attachment care about and respect conventional others and institutions, including parents, teachers, and school. They refrain from delinquency because they do not want to upset or jeopardize their ties to these others. Individuals high in commitment have a large actual or anticipated investment in conventional activities, as reflected in such things as high grades, the desire for an advanced education, and a positive reputation in the community. They refrain from delinquency because it might threaten this investment. Individuals high in involvement spend much time engaged in conventional activities, such as schoolwork, sports, and hobbies. As such, they have little time for delinquency. And individuals high in belief view crime as immoral and believe they should obey the rules of society. Some individuals, however, have weak or amoral beliefs that free them to engage in crime. (Hirschi challenges cultural deviance theories, which argue that some individuals hold beliefs that require or encourage crime.)

After describing these social bonds, Hirschi devotes the bulk of Causes of Delinquency to examining their relationship with delinquency. He draws on self-report data from the Richmond Youth Survey and, in doing so, provides a model for subsequent self-report research on social control and other theories of delinquency. Measures of each social bond are presented and their relationship to official and self-report measures of delinquency is examined. Hirschi (2009) finds that attachment, commitment, and belief are related to delinquency in the predicted direction, but that he “overestimated the significance of involvement in conventional activities” (p. 230). He concludes that there is much support for his theory, excepting the bond of involvement. Hirschi’s conceptualization of the bonds and his empirical test of the theory played the key role in the rise of social control theory in criminology. And much subsequent research has confirmed that there is a strong cross-sectional relationship between delinquency and the bonds of attachment, commitment, and belief. Longitudinal studies, however, have found that the effect of the bonds on delinquency is somewhat weaker (for overviews, see Kempf-Leonard & Morris, 2017; Kubrin, Stucky, & Krohn, 2009).

Hirschi’s case for social control theory, however, involves more than the presentation of data in support of the theory. It also involves the critique of alternative theories. And Hirschi devotes a considerable part of Causes of Delinquency to the evaluation of classic strain theory. The theories of Merton (1938) and Cloward and Ohlin (1960) argue that crime results from the inability to achieve monetary success; while Cohen (1955) focuses on the inability to achieve the somewhat broader goal of middle-class status, which includes a respectable job and lifestyle. All strain theorists argue that lower-class individuals are especially likely to have trouble achieving these goals through legitimate channels. Among other things, their parents are less likely to provide them with the skills necessary to do well in school, they more often attend inferior schools, and their parents are less able send them to college or set them up in business. As a result, they experience much frustration and this frustration provides the motivation for crime. Crime may be used to obtain money, provide an alternative avenue to status (via participation in a criminal subculture), or otherwise cope with frustration (via illicit drug use and violence). Classic strain theory was arguably the leading explanation of crime in the 1950s and 1960s, and it had a major impact on public policy, being an inspiration for the War on Poverty (Empey & Stafford, 1991).

Hirschi (2009) begins his critique of classic strain theory by noting that the theory is at odds with some of the major research findings on crime. For example, data indicate that there is a dramatic drop in crime as individuals move from adolescence to adulthood. But the inability to achieve conventional success goals does not decline during this transition; if anything, it becomes more pressing. Also, Hirschi notes that most self-report data suggest that the relationship between social class and delinquency is weak. Classic strain theory, by contrast, suggests a strong relationship between class and delinquency. Hirschi’s major critique of classic strain theory, however, is based on an analysis of data from the Richmond Youth Survey.

Hirschi conducts several sets of analysis of classic strain theory. The central question he asks is whether individuals who desire conventional success, but have little perceived or objective chance of achieving such success, are more delinquent. He focuses on educational and occupational success goals. And, in general, he finds that delinquency is not highest among those unable to achieve their desire for such success. Rather, it tends to be highest among those with little desire for conventional success and little chance of achieving such success. For example, one set of analyses examines the disjunction between educational aspirations and expectations. Hirschi finds that few boys in his sample have aspirations that greatly exceed their expectations, and that “those boys whose aspirations exceed their expectations are no more likely to be delinquent than those boys whose aspirations and expectations are identical” (2009, p. 173). Similar findings obtain for occupational success. Other research has supported the findings of Hirschi; those who do not expect to achieve their educational or occupational aspirations are not more likely to engage in delinquency (see Kornhauser, 1978, for an overview).

Hirschi explains his findings in terms of social control theory. Those who do not desire or expect educational and occupational success have a weak bond to conventional society. As such, they have more freedom to engage in delinquency. Those who desire but do not expect such success still have some bond to conventional society and therefore face some constraint to delinquency. Hirschi’s work, along with the critique of classic strain theory by Kornhauser (1978), played the central role in the fall of classic strain theory—as well as the rise of social control theory.

It is important to note that Hirschi’s work on classic strain theory has been criticized (e.g., Agnew, 1997; Agnew and Cullen, 2015; Agnew, Cullen, Burton, Evans, & Dunaway, 1996; Bernard, 1984; Burton and Cullen, 1992). Among other things, it has been said that the Richmond Youth Survey under-samples the serious delinquents that are the focus of classic strain theory (Bernard, 1984). These delinquents are said to be the most likely to experience the goal blockage described by classic strain theorists. Also, Hirschi’s measures of strain have been questioned (Agnew and Cullen, 2015; Agnew et al., 1996; Bernard, 1984; Burton and Cullen, 1992). For example, it has been argued that aspirations or ideal goals have something of the utopian in them, so the disjunction between aspirations and expectations is unlikely to generate much strain or pressure for crime. Strain is more likely to result from the disjunction between expected and actual achievements or just/fair outcomes and actual outcomes (Agnew, 1992).

Further, it has been argued that that the classic strain theories of Merton and of Cloward and Ohlin focus on the goal of monetary success, with Cloward and Ohlin suggesting that lower- class boys have little interest in educational and occupational success. Hirschi does not have good measures of monetary strain, but other data suggest that monetary strain is linked to crime. For example, more recent research suggests that crime is higher among those who are dissatisfied with their monetary status; who experience financial problems, especially multiple problems; who feel monetarily deprived relative to their comparison others; and who experience a disjunction between expected and actual economic outcomes (e.g., Agnew and Cullen, 2015; Agnew et al., 1996, Agnew, Matthews, Bucher, Welcher, & Keyes, 2008; Baron, 2007; Bernburg, Thorlindsson, & Sigfusdottir, 2009; Greenberg, 2015; Rebellon, Piquero, Piquero, & Thaxton, 2009). Such research has led to a minor revival of classic strain theory in recent years.

Nevertheless, I believe that Hirschi makes a valid point when he argues that certain strains are unrelated to delinquency because they are associated with social control. This is likely the case with the desire for educational and occupational success. People who desire such success have been conventionally socialized to some degree, implying they have something of a bond to society. In the words of Kornhauser (1978, p. 47):

If the child is sufficiently socialized to have a strong desire for conventional goals, he should be well enough socialized also to have internalized values governing the conventional means of achieving them… . He should also be strongly enough attached to conventional persons and institutions to resist the temptation to use nonnormative means.

As argued below, this insight on the part of Hirschi was an important inspiration for the development of general strain theory, now the leading version of strain theory.

The Unintended Effect of Causes of Delinquency on General Strain Theory (GST)

Hirschi’s (1969) findings regarding educational and occupational success were one of the factors that prompted me to search for other sources of strain in developing general strain theory (GST). GST is distinguished by the many types of strain that it incorporates, with these strains falling into three broad categories: the inability to achieve goals, the loss of positive stimuli, and the presentation of negative stimuli (Agnew, 1992, 2006). The failure to achieve educational and occupational goals, however, is not one of the types of goal blockage in GST. GST states that only some types of strain, including goal blockage, cause crime.

Strains are most likely to cause crime when they are high in magnitude, are seen as unjust, create some pressure or incentive for criminal coping, and—drawing on Hirschi—are associated with low control (Agnew, 2001, 2006). Strains refer to events and conditions that are disliked by individuals (Agnew, 2001). But many disliked events and conditions are associated with moderate to high control, including attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. As Hirschi argues, this is the case with the inability to achieve educational and occupational success goals. Individuals who desire such success likely have some attachment to conventional others, commitment to conventional institutions, and acceptance of conventional beliefs. The following strains are also likely to involve moderate to high social control (Agnew, 2001, 2006).

• Strains associated with the proper application of punishments. Punishments are, by definition, disliked. But if punishments are applied in the proper manner, they lead to lower rather than higher levels of crime (Agnew, 2001). Among other things, properly applied punishments are administered by legitimate sanctioning agents; are contingent on misbehavior; are applied in a consistent and non- discriminatory manner; are not harsh or excessive given the infraction; and involve condemnation of the offense rather than the offender (Agnew, 2001). Punishments of this type are likely to be seen as just and they effectively increase the costs of crime.
• Strains involving the burdens associated with childcare, elder care, and the care of sick or disabled spouses. As difficult as these burdens may be, GST states that they should be weakly related to most crimes because attachment to the recipient of care is usually high—thereby increasing the costs of crime. Also, such strains are likely to be seen as just, since most peop...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Acknowledgments
• The Criminology of Travis Hirschi: Social Control and Beyond
• Part I: Social Control Theory―A Look Back
• Part II: Looking Forward―New Directions and Applications
• List of Contributors
• Index