The empirical status of Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime:A meta-analysis

To determine the empirical status of Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) "gene ral theory of crime," we conducted a meta-analysis on existing empirical st udies. The results indicate that, regardless of measurement differences, lo w self-control is art important predictor of crime and of "analogous behavi ors. " Also, low self-control has general effects across different types of samples. Contrary to Gottfredson and Hirschi's position, however, the effe ct of low self-control is weaker in longitudinal studies, and variables fro m social learning theory still receive support in studies that include a me asure of low self-control. Finally, we argue that meta-analysis is an under utilized tool in discerning the relative empirical merits of criminological theories.