Self-Control and Its Manifestations Among University Students: An Empirical Test of Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory

• NCJ Number: 158207
• Journal: Justice Quarterly Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1995) Pages: 231-255
• Author(s): J J Gibbs; D Giever
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 25 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study tested Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime (1990) by examining the independent influence of the personality characteristic of self-control on behaviors that can be considered equivalent to crime.

Abstract

A sample of 237 undergraduates completed a survey including a self-control scale and self-report items on alcohol consumption and class cutting. While the results showed a statistically significant association between race and drinking, there was no such relationship between age and drinking. Neither age nor race was associated with class cutting. Self-control was the independent variable most strongly linked with both dependent variables at the zero-order level. When percentage of class hours cut was regressed on the three independent variables, self-control was the only factor with a significant partial regression coefficient. When drinking was regressed on the three independent variables, all three had significant partial regression coefficients, but self- control had the largest standardized partial regression coefficient. 6 tables, 11 notes, and 21 references