ROLE-TAKING, ROLE COMMITMENT, AND DELINQUENCY - A THEORY OF DIFFERENTIAL SOCIAL-CONTROL

This paper builds on a symbolic interactionist theory of delinquency t hat identifies the locus of social control in the process of taking th e role of the other According to structural symbolic interactionism, r ole-taking is linked to the broader social organization through the co ncepts of generalized others, role commitments, and reference groups. We specify mechanisms affecting delinquency derived from the classical theories of labeling and differential association as special cases of this symbolic interactionist perspective. In contrast, social disorga nization and social control theories contradict the assumptions of int eractionism and provide a competing set of hypotheses. We translate th ese hypotheses into a covariance structure model of individual delinqu ency, and estimate it using panel data from a national sample of males . Our results support the symbolic interactionist perspective: Delinqu ency is affected by the elements of role-taking-associating with delin quent peers, having delinquent reflected appraisals, and holding delin quent attitudes. Moreover contrary to social disorganization and socia l control theories, variables representing social disorganization, att achment, and commitment affect delinquency only indirectly through the differential social control process of role-taking.