Self-Control, Criminal Motivation and Deterrence: An Investigation Using Russian Respondents

• NCJ Number: 210354
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 43 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2005 Pages: 307-353
• Author(s): Charles R. Tittle; Ekaterina V. Botchkovar
• Date Published: May 2005
• Length: 47 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

After addressing the generality of the self-control theory of crime, this Russian study considers the relevance of criminal motivation (the attractiveness of crime), whether self-control affects criminal behavior by leading individuals to ignore or minimize the consequences of crime, and the effectiveness of sanctions deterrence among those with weak or strong criminal motivation.

Abstract

Self-control theory holds that all people are tempted by gratifying but potentially costly behavior, with those who exercise self-control tending to resist the gratification to avoid the consequences and those with weak self-control succumbing to immediate gratification regardless of possible consequences. The theory also contends that most criminal behavior is inherently gratifying so that individuals vary little in their motivation toward committing crime. Further, the theory argues that the degree to which fear of sanctions attached to particular criminal behaviors deters the behavior is highest among those who are capable of self-control; deterrence through sanctions is least effective with those having weak self-control. To test these tenets of self-control theory, data were obtained from face-to-face interviews with 224 adults (mean age of 30) in Nizhni Novgorod, Russia, in the summer of 2002. Females composed 70 percent of the sample. Self-control was measured with the Grasmick Scale of Self-Control. Respondents were also questioned about 11 specific "imprudent" but nonviolent and nonfraudulent acts committed during the past 3 years that might indicate their level of self-control; and other questions measured levels of gratification linked to the commission of specified criminal acts. The study found that although the magnitude of associations between self-control and indicators of criminal behavior was similar to those of other studies, suggesting the generality of the theory, the level of gratification attached to specific criminal behaviors (criminal motivation) was more significant than self-control in determining criminal behavior. 5 tables and 109 references