Social Control and Self-control Theories of Crime and Deviance

Book excerpt: The essays gathered together in this volume reflect the unique concern of social control and self-control theorists that patterns in criminal behaviors are better explained by variations in social constraints rather than by individual motivational impulses. The articles are arranged into four sections: the major contributors to the early developmental stage of social control theory; the central importance of parents, peers, and schools; the theoretical underpinnings of self-control theory; and theoretical integrations of social control and self-control theories with various motivational theories of crime and delinquency.