LINKING SELF-CONTROL AND SOCIAL-CONTROL WITH DEVIANCE - ILLUMINATING THE STRUCTURE UNDERLYING A GENERAL-THEORY OF CRIME AND ITS RELATION TODEVIANT ACTIVITY

The present paper operationalizes and empirically tests the most recen t theoretical speculations of Hirschi and Gottfredson regarding an ind ividual level characteristic of self-control and its relation to earli er specifications of control theory as well as the literature on perso nality. Linkages are drawn between their broad delineation of self-con trol and personal disorders of hyperactivity, impulsivity, attention d eficits, and minor conduct problems. Psychologists disagree about whet her such disorders represent single or multiple traits and whether bot h behavioral and cognitive measures can appropriately depict personali ty characteristics. Employing structural equation techniques, support for several propositions derived from Gottfredson and Hirschi's thesis is found: Self-control subsumes several personality disorders and is significantly comprised by early behavioral indicators of aggression a nd fighting, is inversely related to other elements of the social bond , is moderately stable over a short period of time, and significantly predicts criminal convictions. However, questions remain regarding the ubiquity of self-control, the magnitude and meaning of stability, and the power of this perspective to explain all forms of self-reported d elinquency.