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The Development of Self Control: Examining Self Control Theory's Stability Thesis |
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Abstract:
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Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) self-control theory has inspired extensive new research, with most studies supporting its central prediction that low self-control significantly affects crime and deviance. The theory includes other predictions, however, that have received much less scrutiny. Included among these is the stability thesis—the argument that self-control is developed early in childhood as a result of parental socialization, and that individual differences emerging then persist over time. The purpose of this study is to provide a rigorous test of the stability thesis. First, we examine the extent of stability and change in self-control for a national sample of U.S. children age 7 to 15. We go beyond earlier studies by using a group-based modeling approach (Nagin, 2005) to consider that self-control may not develop in a uniform pattern for all individuals in the sample. Second, we consider whether parenting continues to affect self-control during adolescence—a period after the point at which self-control differences should be fixed. The analysis reveals evidence that both supports and contradicts the theory. Supporting the theory is the roughly 60 percent of respondents who have high levels of self-control from as early as age 7, and exhibit almost perfect stability (in both an absolute and relative sense) through age 15. Contradicting the theory, however, is a smaller portion of respondents (roughly 20 percent) who experienced substantial absolute and relative change in self-control even after the age of 10. Moreover, parental socialization continued to affect self-control during adolescence, even after accounting for both prior self-control and exposure to parental socialization. |
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Association:
Name: American Society of Criminology (ASC)
URL: http://www.asc41.com
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Citation:
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MLA Citation:
| Hay, Carter. and Forrest, Walter. "The Development of Self Control: Examining Self Control Theory's Stability Thesis" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC), <Not Available>. 2009-05-24 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p121508_index.html> |
APA Citation:
| Hay, C. and Forrest, W. "The Development of Self Control: Examining Self Control Theory's Stability Thesis" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC) <Not Available>. 2009-05-24 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p121508_index.html |
Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) self-control theory has inspired extensive new research, with most studies supporting its central prediction that low self-control significantly affects crime and deviance. The theory includes other predictions, however, that have received much less scrutiny. Included among these is the stability thesis—the argument that self-control is developed early in childhood as a result of parental socialization, and that individual differences emerging then persist over time. The purpose of this study is to provide a rigorous test of the stability thesis. First, we examine the extent of stability and change in self-control for a national sample of U.S. children age 7 to 15. We go beyond earlier studies by using a group-based modeling approach (Nagin, 2005) to consider that self-control may not develop in a uniform pattern for all individuals in the sample. Second, we consider whether parenting continues to affect self-control during adolescence—a period after the point at which self-control differences should be fixed. The analysis reveals evidence that both supports and contradicts the theory. Supporting the theory is the roughly 60 percent of respondents who have high levels of self-control from as early as age 7, and exhibit almost perfect stability (in both an absolute and relative sense) through age 15. Contradicting the theory, however, is a smaller portion of respondents (roughly 20 percent) who experienced substantial absolute and relative change in self-control even after the age of 10. Moreover, parental socialization continued to affect self-control during adolescence, even after accounting for both prior self-control and exposure to parental socialization. |
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