Exploring the Utility of Social Control Theory for Youth Development: Issues of Attachment, Involvement, and Gender

• NCJ Number: 197890
• Journal: Youth & Society Volume: 34 Issue: 2 Dated: December 2002 Pages: 123-145
• Author(s): Angela J. Huebner; Sherry C. Betts
• Date Published: December 2002
• Length: 23 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the utility of social control theory's "attachment" and "involvement" bonds as protective factors in the analysis of gender differences in reports of delinquency and academic performance in a sample of 7th to 12th graders.

Abstract

A literature review found that both attachment and involvement, as defined generally by social control theory (SCT), have the potential to have a positive influence on academic performance and as protective factors against delinquency. The role of gender in determining the salience of these bonds for both deviant and positive outcomes remains less clear. Data for the current study were obtained as part of a larger study of youth attitudes, behaviors, values, worries, and hopes. Participants were students in grades 7 through 12 in a high school in a southwestern U.S. mining community of approximately 11,000 residents. Of the 1,060 students enrolled in the school, 911 students (86 percent) participated in this study. A 159-item comprehensive survey was administered during regular classes to all students who were present, had parental permission to participate, and chose to participate. Fifty-one percent of the students who responded to the survey were male, and 49 percent were female. Four measures assessed attachment, and seven measures assessed involvement in conventional activities. The delinquency scale was composed of nine questions that involved self-reporting on the frequency of cheating, fighting, carrying weapons to school, damaging property, using false identification, using drugs or alcohol at school, breaking and entering, stealing, and trouble with police. Self-reported grades were used as a measure of academic achievement. The study findings suggest that although several of the "involvement" bond variables of SCT were predictive of both delinquency and academic achievement for both genders, only the "attachment" bond variables provided such an overall protection function for females. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. 3 tables and 56 references