Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime is proposed to be general in its explanation of all crimes and to have applicability cross-culturally, though the latter has seldom been tested. Their theory focuses attention on early childhood socialization but it does not specify adequately how features of socialization operate to foster self-control. This study examines Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime cross-culturally and in relation to parental and family attachments. A self-report survey was administered to a sample of 298 Puerto Rican High School students who attend either a private or a public school in two comparable municipalities of Puerto Rico. This research examines how various measures of attachment relate self-control and how both attachment and self-control predicts analogous behavior (e.g. cheating, substance use) and shoplifting. Attachments and self-control relate to analogous behaviors and crime. Self-Control, however, did not mediate all the effect of attachment to analogous behaviors and shoplifting. The strength of the relationships was diminished but not eliminated. Directions for future research and policy implications are also discussed here.