Chapter 9: Social control theories: family relations

Abstract

Chapter 9 addresses the theoretical explanations and empirical findings regarding informal social control – the characteristics of social relations that bring about conformity, including parental supervision, sensitivity to others (their feelings, wishes, and expectations), identification with others, emotional attachment, and informal sanctions. Three different versions of social control theory are discussed: social bond theory, life-course theory, and self-control theory. The remainder of the chapter considers how characteristics of family life are related to informal social control, including the quality of parent–child relations, family management, parental efficacy, family structure, mother’s employment, family social class, parental criminality, sibling criminality, and the effect of parents on peer influence.

Theories

• social bond theory
• life-course theory 
• self-control theory or a general theory of crime

Key Terms

• informal social controls
• formal social controls
• direct controls
• indirect controls
• internalized controls
• attachment
• commitment
• involvement
• belief
• life course
• trajectory or pathway
• transition
• turning point
• social capital
• human agency
• low self-control
• family management
• parental social support
• parental efficacy
• family structure
• family disruption

Outline

1. Informal social control
2. Social control theories
   1. Hirschi’s social bond theory
      1. Attachment
      2. Commitment
      3. Involvement
      4. Belief
      5. Connections between elements of the social bond
      6. Research findings on the social bond
   2. Sampson and Laub’s life-course theory
      1. The life-course perspective
      2. A sociogenic developmental theory
      3. Life-course change and informal social control
      4. Testing life-course theory
      5. Life-course desisters
   3. Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime: self-control theory
      1. The nature of crime
      2. The nature of criminality: low self-control
      3. Origins of self-control
      4. Research findings on self-control theory
3. Characteristics of family life and informal social control
   1. Quality of the parent–child relationship
   2. Family management: monitoring, supervision, and discipline
   3. Parental efficacy
   4. Family structure
      1. Family disruption
      2. Family size and birth order
   5. Mother’s employment
   6. Family social class
   7. Parental criminality
   8. Sibling criminality
   9. Parents and peers
4. Summary and conclusions