NCJ Number
170553
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1998) Pages: 40-70
Date Published
1998
Length
31 pages
Annotation
Two hundred eighty-nine university students completed a self-report instrument intended to test the empirical theory of Gottfredson and Hirschi by examining parental management, self control, and deviance.
Abstract
Gottfredson and Hirschi asserted that self-control is associated with crime and equivalent behaviors and that parent behavior is a primary influence on the child's development of self-control. The present research compared tests of two models derived from Gottfredson and Hirschi's theory. One model considered self-control to be the dependent variable. The other used self-control as an intervening variable that mediates the influence of parental management on deviance, which is the dependent variable. The data were analyzed by means of path analysis. Results revealed that parental management has an indirect influence on deviance through self-control, which has a direct impact. Findings supported the theory of Gottfredson and Hirschi. Tables, figures, notes, and 39 references (Author abstract modified)