NCJ Number
199256
Journal
Journal of Crime & Justice Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: 2002 Pages: 71-96
Editor(s)
J. Mitchell Miller
Date Published
2002
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This study of the General Theory of Crime adds to and provides support for the primary model comprising this theory.
Abstract
Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime used as its primary model the idea that parental management influences self-control which influences deviance, a three-factor model. The article begins with a brief review of relevant literature concerning the General Theory of Crime that has developed since its inception in 1991. A fairly detailed explanation of the theory's basic assumptions is provided. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is the method used to empirically assess this theory, using maximum-likelihood estimates. The author's goals were to make a modest contribution to existing empirical tests of the theory and, also, to test two alternative models derived from the theory and compare them to the primary model. The sample is described as 425 college students, in general education courses in a college in the Eastern United States, who completed a questionnaire during the spring semester in 2001. Measures used included deviance scoring, self control assessment using limited scenario-based behavior, and parental management assessment. Tables provide information on means, standard deviations, alpha coefficients, skew and kurtosis; correlations (above) and covariance (below) between observed variables; and communality values for the latent variables; three model figures are included. It is recommended that future research include measures of self-control and parental management that are not dependent upon recall which can be faulty. In conclusion, it was found that the three-factor model from Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime does provide a valid explanation of deviance. A list of source references is provided.