Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wg55d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-07T00:22:04.180Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

33 - Self-Control and Offending

from Part V - Capacity and Opportunity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2021

By
Travis C. Pratt  and
Kristin M. Lloyd
Edited by
Benjamin van Rooij  and
D. Daniel Sokol
Benjamin van Rooij
Affiliation:
School of Law, University of Amsterdam
D. Daniel Sokol
Affiliation:
University of Florida
Get access

Summary

Abstract: Over the last three decades, self-control theory has established itself as one of the leading explanations of criminal and deviant behavior. At its core, the theory asserts that those with low self-control will be less likely to comply with the law (as well as other social norms). This chapter reviews the self-control perspective in terms of: (1) its origin and development within criminology, (2) its empirical status with respect to how well the theory predicts compliance/failure to comply with the law, (3) recent theoretical and empirical developments in the self-control model, and (4) what future research would be most useful to continue to explore in this theoretical tradition.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Compliance , pp. 489 - 498
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agnew, Robert. 2007. Pressured into Crime: An Overview of General Strain Theory. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Akers, Ronald L. 1991. “Self-Control as a General Theory of Crime.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 7, no. 2 (June):201–11. doi: 0748.4518/91/0600-0201506.50/0.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumeister, R. F., and Heatherton, Todd F.. 1996. “Self-Regulation Failure: An Overview.” Psychological Inquiry 7, no. 1:1–15. doi: 10.1207/s15327965pli0701_1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumeister, Roy F., Bratslavsky, Ellen, Muravin, Mark, and Tice, Dianne M.. 1998. “Ego Depletion: Is the Active Self a Limited Resource?” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74:1252–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beaver, Kevin M., Wright, John Paul, and Delisi, Matt. 2007. “Self-Control as an Executive Function: Reformulating Gottfredson and Hirschi’s Parental Socialization Thesis.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 34:1345–61.Google Scholar
Bensonl, Michael L., and Elizabeth Moore. 1992. “Are White-Collar and Common Offenders the Same? An Empirical and Theoretical Critique of a Recently Proposed General Theory of Crime.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 29:251–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blumstein, Alfred, and Cohen, Jacquelyn. 1979. “Estimation of Individual Crime Rates from Arrest Records.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 70, no.4:561–85.Google Scholar
Brame, Robert, Paternoster, Raymond, and Bushway, Shawn D.. 2004. “Criminal Offending Frequency and Offense Switching.” Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 20, no. 2 (May):201–14. doi: 10.1177/1043986204263779.Google Scholar
Burt, Callie H., Simons, Ronald L., and Simons, Leslie G.. 2006. “A Longitudinal Test of the Effects of Parenting and the Stability of Self-Control: Negative Evidence for the General Theory of Crime.” Criminology 44, no. 2 (June):353–96. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2006.00052.x.Google Scholar
Burt, Callie H., Sweeten, Gary, and Simons, Ronald L.. 2014. “Self-Control through Emerging Adulthood: Instability, Multidimensionality, and Criminological Significance.” Criminology 52, no. 3:450–87. doi: 10.1111/1745-9125.12045.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapple, Constance L. 2007. “Self-Control, Peer Relations, and Delinquency.” Justice Quarterly 22, no. 1:89–106. doi: 10.1080/0741882042000333654.Google Scholar
Clarke, Ronald V. 1995. “Situational Crime Prevention.” Crime and Justice: A Review of Research 19:91–150.Google Scholar
Cloward, Richard, and Ohlin, Lloyd. 1960. Delinquency and Opportunity: A Theory of Delinquent Gangs. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Colvin, Mark. 2000. Crime and Coercion: An Integrated Theory of Chronic Criminality. New York: St. Martins.Google Scholar
Crank, Beverly Reece, and Brezina, Timothy. 2019. “Self-Control, Emerging Adulthood, and Desistance from Crime: A Partial Test of Pratt’s Integrated Self-Control/Life-Course Theory of Offending. Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology 5:38–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cullen, Francis T., Unnever, James D., Wright, John Paul, and Beaver, Kevin M.. 2008. “Parenting and Self-Control.” In Out of Control: Assessing the General Theory of Crime, edited by Goode, Erich, 61–74. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Cullen, Francis T., Pratt, Travis C., Turanovic, Jillian J., and Butler, Leah. 2018. “When Bad News Arrives: Project HOPE in a Post-Factual World.” Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 43:13–34.Google Scholar
Deane, Glenn, Armstrong, David P., and Felson, Richard B.. 2005. “An Examination of Offense Specialization Using Marginal Logit Models.” Criminology 43, no. 4:955–88. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2005.00030.x.Google Scholar
Delisi, Matt. 2003. “The Imprisoned Nonviolent Drug Offender: Specialized Martyr or Versatile Career Criminal?” American Journal of Criminal Justice 27, no. 2:167–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrington, David P. 1986. “Age and Crime.” In Crime and Justice: An Annual Review of Research, edited by Tonry, Michael and Morris, N., 189–250. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Farrington, David P., Piquero, Alex R., and Jennings, Wesley G.. Offending from Childhood to Late Middle Age: Recent Results from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Gibbs, John J., Giever, Dennis, and Martin, Jamie S.. 1998. “Parental Management and Self-Control: An Empirical Test of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 35, no. 1:40–70. doi: 10.1177/0022427898035001002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gottfredson, Michael R. 2008. “The Empirical Status of Control Theory in Criminology.” In Taking Stock: The Status of Criminological Theory, edited by Cullen, Francis T., Wright, John Paul, and Blevins, Kristie R., 77–100. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
Gottfredson, Michael R., and Hirschi, Travis. 1990. A General Theory of Crime. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Gottfredson, Michael, and Travis Hirschi. 2019. Modern Control Theory and the Limits of Criminal Justice. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hay, Carter. and Forrest, Walter. 2006. “The Development of Self-Control: Examining Self-Control Theory’s Stability Thesis.” Criminology 44, no. 4 (December):739–74. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2006.00062.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirschi, Travis. 1969. Causes of Delinquency. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Hirschi, Travis. 2004. “Self-Control and Crime.” In Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Application, edited by Baumeister, Roy F. and Vohs, Kathleen D., 538–52. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Holtfreter, Kristy, Beaver, Kevin M., Reisig, Michael D., and Pratt, Travis C.. 2010a. “Low Self-Control and Fraud Offending.” Journal of Financial Crime 17, no. 3:295–307. doi: 10.1108/13590791011056264.Google Scholar
Holtfreter, Kristy, Reisig, Michael D., Piquero, Nicole Leeper, and Piquero, Alex R.. 2010b. “Low Self-Control and Fraud: Offending, Victimization, and Their Overlap.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 37, no. 2 (February):188–203. doi: 10.1177/0093854809354977.Google Scholar
Kempf, Kimberly L. 1987. “Specialization and the Criminal Career.” Criminology 25, no. 2 (May):399–420. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1987.tb00803.x.Google Scholar
Kubrin, Charis, Thomas, E., Stucky, D., and Krohn, Marvin D.. 2009. Researching Theories of Crime and Deviance. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lee, Matthew R., Chassin, Laurie, and MacKinnon, David. 2010. “The Effect of Marriage on Young Adult Heavy Drinking and Its Mediators: Results from Two Methods of Adjusting for Selection into Marriage.” Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 24:712–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynam, Donald R., Caspi, Avshalom, Moffitt, Terri E., Wikstrom, Per-Olof, Loeber, Rolf, and Novak, Scott. 2000. “The Interaction between Impulsivity and Neighborhood Context on Offending: The Effects of Impulsivity Are Stronger in Poorer Neighborhoods.” Journal of Abnormal Psychology 109:563–74.Google Scholar
Mazerolle, Paul, Brame, Robert, Paternoster, Ray, Piquero, Alex, and Dean, Charles. 2000. “Onset Age, Persistence, and Offending Versatility: Comparisons across Gender.” Criminology 38, no. 4 (November):1143–72. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2000.tb01417.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGloin, Jean Marie, and O’Neil Shermer, Lauren. 2009. “Self-Control and Deviant Peer Network Structure.” Journal of Research on Crime and Delinquency 46, no. 1 (February):35–72. doi: 10.1177/0022427808326585.Google Scholar
McGloin, Jean Marie, and Kyle J. Thomas. 2019. “Peer Influence and Delinquency.” Annual Review of Criminology 2:241–264.Google Scholar
McGloin, Jean Marie, Sullivan, Christopher J., Piquero, Alex R., and Pratt, Travis C.. 2007. “Local Life Circumstances and Offending Specialization/Versatility: Comparing Opportunity and Propensity.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 44, no. 3 (August):321–46. doi: 10.1177/0022427807302664.Google Scholar
McGloin, Jean Marie, Christopher J. Sullivan, and Alex R. Piquero. 2009. “Aggregating to Versatility? Transitions among Offender Types in the Short Term.” British Journal of Criminlogy 49:243–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meldrum, Ryan C., and Hay, Carter. 2012. “Do Peers Matter in the Development of Self-Control? Evidence from a Longitudinal Study of Youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 41:691–703. doi: 10.1007/s10964-011-9692-0.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meldrum, Ryan C., Young, Jacob T. N., and Weerman, Frank M.. 2009. “Reconsidering the Effect of Self-Control and Delinquent Peers: Implications of Measurement for Theoretical Significance.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 46, no. 3 (May):353–76. doi: 10.1177/0022427809335171.Google Scholar
Messner, Steven F., Richard Rosenfeld, and Eric P. Baumer. 2004. “Dimensions of Social Capital and Rates of Criminal Homicide.” American Sociological Review 69:882–903.Google Scholar
Moffit, Terrie E., Poulton, Richie, and Caspi, Avshalom. 2013. “Lifelong Impact of Early Self-Control.” American Scientist, 101 (July):352–9.Google Scholar
Muraven, Mark, and Baumeister, Roy F.. 2000. “Self-Regulation and Depletion of Limited Resources: Does Self-Control Resemble a Muscle? Psychological Bulletin 126:247–59.Google Scholar
Na, Chongmin, and Paternoster, Raymond. 2012. “Can Self-Control Change Substantially Over Time? Rethinking the Relationship between Self- and Social Control.” Criminology 50, no. 2:427–62. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2011.00269.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piquero, Alex R. 2000. “Frequency, Specialization, and Violence in Offending Careers.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 37, no. 4 (November):392–418. doi: 10.1177/0022427800037004003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piquero, Alex. R., Paternoster, Raymond, Mazerolle, Paul, Brame, Robert, and Dean, Charles W.. 1999. “Onset Age and Offense Specialization.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 36, no. 3 (August):275–99. doi: 10.1177/0022427899036003002.Google Scholar
Piquero, Alex R., MacDonald, John, Dobrin, Adam, Daigle, Leah E., and Cullen, Francis T.. 2005. “Self-Control, Violent Offending, and Homicide Victimization: Assessing the General Theory of Crime.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 21, no. 1 (March):55–71. doi: 10.1007/s10940-004-1787-2.Google Scholar
Piquero, Nicole Leeper, Schoepfer, Andrea, and Langton, Lynn. 2010. “Completely Out of Control or the Desire to Be in Complete Control? How Low Self-Control and the Desire for Control Relate to Corporate Offending.” Crime & Delinquency 56, no. 4:627–47. doi: 10.1177/0011128708325052.Google Scholar
Piquero, Alex R., Jennings, Wesley G., Farrington, David P., Diamond, Brie, and Reingle Gonzalez, Jennifer M.. 2016. “A Meta-analysis Update on the Effectiveness of Early Self-Control Improvement Programs to Improve Self-Control and Reduce Delinquency.” Journal of Experimental Criminology, 12:249–64.Google Scholar
Pratt, Travis C. 2008. “Rational Choice Theory, Crime Control Policy, and Criminological Relevance.” Criminology and Public Policy 7:43–52.Google Scholar
Pratt, Travis C. 2015. “A Reconceptualized Model of Self-Control and Crime: Specifying the Role of Self-Control Variability.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 42:662–79.Google Scholar
Pratt, Travis C. 2016. “A Self-Control/Life-Course Theory of Criminal Behavior.” European Journal of Criminology 13:129–46.Google Scholar
Pratt, Travis C. 2019. Addicted to Incarceration: Corrections Policy and the Politics of Misinformation in the United States. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pratt, Travis C., and Cullen, Francis T.. 2000. “The Empirical Status of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime: A Meta-analysis.” Criminology 38, no. 3 (August):931–64. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2000.tb00911.x.Google Scholar
Pratt, Travis C., and Turanovic, Jillian J.. 2016. “Lifestyle and Routine Activity Theories Revisited: The Importance of ‘Risk’ to the Study of Victimization.” Victims and Offenders 11:335–54.Google Scholar
Pratt, Travis C., and Turanovic, Jillian J.. 2018. “Celerity and Deterrence.” In Deterrence, Choice, and Crime – Contemporary Perspectives, Advances in Criminological Theory, vol. 23, edited by Nagin, Daniel S., Cullen, Francis T., and Jonson, Cheryl Lero, 187–210. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.Google Scholar
Pratt, Travis C., Turner, Michael G., and Piquero, Alex R.. 2004. “Parental Socialization and Community Context: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Structural Sources of Low Self-Control.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 41, no. 3 (August):219–43. doi: 10.1177/0022427803260270.Google Scholar
Pratt, Travis C., Jillian J. Turanovic, Kathleen A. Fox, and Kevin A. Wright. 2014. “Self-Control and Victimization: A Meta-Analysis.” Criminology 52:87–116.Google Scholar
Pratt, Travis C., Barnes, J. C., Cullen, Francis T., and Turanovic, Jillian J.. 2016. “‘I Suck at Everything’: Crime, Arrest, and the Generality of Failure.” Deviant Behavior 37:837–51.Google Scholar
Rocque, Michael. 2015. “The Lost Concept: The (Re) Emerging Link between Maturation and Desistance from Crime.” Criminology and Criminal Justice, 15, 340–60.Google Scholar
Schmidt, Klaus-Helmut, Neubach, Barbara, and Heuer, Herbert. 2007. “Self-Control Demands, Cognitive Control Deficits, and Burnout.” Work and Stress, 21, 142–54.Google Scholar
Schoepfer, Andrea, Piquero, Nicole Leeper, and Langton, Lynn. 2013. “Low Self-Control versus the Desire-For-Control: An Empirical Test of White-Collar Crime and Conventional Crime.” Deviant Behavior 35, no. 3 (February):197–214. doi: 10.1080/01639625.2013.834758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tittle, Charles R. 1980. Sanctions and Social Deviance: The Question of Deterrence. Westport, CT: Praeger.Google Scholar
Turanovic, Jillian J., and Pratt, Travis C.. 2014. “‘Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop’: Self-Control, Risky Lifestyles, and Repeat Victimization.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 30:29–56.Google Scholar
Turanovic, Jillian J., Reisig, Michael D., and Pratt, Travis C.. 2015. “Risky Lifestyles, Low Self-Control, and Violent Victimization across Gendered Pathways.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 31:183–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turanovic, Jillian J., Pratt, Travis C., and Piquero, Alex R.. 2018. “Structural Constraints, Risky Lifestyles, and Repeat Victimization.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 34:251–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, Michael G., and Piquero, Alex R.. 2002. “The Stability of Self-Control.” Journal of Criminal Justice 30, no. 6 (November–December):457–71. doi: 10.1016/S0047-2352(02)00169-1.Google Scholar
Vazsonyi, Alexander T., Mikuska, Jakub, and Kelly, Erin L.. 2017. “It’s Time: A Meta-analysis on the Self-Control-Deviance Link.” Journal of Criminal Justice 48, (January):48–63. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2016.10.001.Google Scholar
Warr, Mark. 2002. Companions in Crime: The Social Aspects of Criminal Conduct. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wikstrom, Per-Olof, and Svensson, Robert. 2010. “When Does Self-Control Matter? The Interaction between Morality and Self-Control in Crime Causation.” European Journal of Criminology 7:395–410.Google Scholar
Wikstrom, Per-Olof, and Treiber, Kyle. 2007. “The Role of Self-Control in Crime Causation: Beyond Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime.” European Journal of Criminology 4:237–64.Google Scholar
Wikstrom, Per-Olof, Oberwittler, Dietrich, Treiber, Kyle, and Hardi, Beth. 2012. Breaking Rules: The Social and Situational Dynamics of Young People’s Urban Crime. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Zimmerman, Gregory M. 2010. “Impulsivity, Offending, and Neighborhood: Investigating the Person-Context Nexus.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 26:301–32.Google Scholar
Zimmerman, Gregory M., Botchkovar, Ekaterina V., Antonaccio, Olena, and Hughes, Lorine A.. 2015. “Low Self-Control in ‘Bad’ Neighborhoods: Assessing the Role of Context on the Relationship between Self-Control and Crime.” Justice Quarterly, 32, no. 1 (November):56–84. doi: 10.1080/07418825.2012.737472.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×