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Toward a General Theory of Criminal Justice: Low Self-Control and Offender Noncompliance

NCJ Number
223309
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 33 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2008 Pages: 141-158
Author(s)
Matt DeLisi; Andy Hochstetler; George E. Higgins; Kevin M. Beaver; Christine M. Graeve
Date Published
June 2008
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Building on an extension of self-control theory to criminal justice, this study explored Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory with data from male parolees.
Abstract
The results indicated promising empirical links between low self-control, offender noncompliance, and criminal justice outcomes. In a variety of contexts, criminal offenders with low self-control or high disputatiousness continually engaged in conduct that was not conducive to rehabilitation, worsened their relationships with staff and other inmates, and jeopardized their criminal justice status and likelihood of reintegrating to society. Since the publication of Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi’s A General Theory of Crime in 1990, self-control theory has become a dominant area of inquiry in criminology. Gottfredson and Hirschi theorize that an individual’s level of self-control is the outcome of parental socialization occurring in approximately the first 10 years of life. Researchers recently argued that self-control theory has import for the criminal justice system, and that individuals with low self-control are likely to have trouble when controlled by the criminal justice system. This study is the first to empirically explore this recent extension of self-control theory to criminal justice outcomes. The study reviewed the literature on self-control theory, paying specific attention to the empirical status of the theory and theoretical focus pertaining to correctional samples, specifically 208 male parolees from the midwestern United States, and criminal justice outcomes. Tables, references

Publication Format
Article
Publication Type
Research (Theoretical)
Language
English
Country
United States of America