The Social Bond Theory

Improved Essays
Show More
The Social Bond theory, later known as the social control theory, was written by Travis Hirschi in 1969. Social Bond theory contains elements such as attachment to families, commitment to social norms and institutions (school, employment, church), involvement in activities, and the belief that these things are important. This theory is derived from the General Theory of Crime. Hirschi’s social bond theory emphasizes the idea that there is an absence of social attachments among delinquent juveniles. Interactions between family and peers on a daily basis affect the lives of delinquents in several ways. One of the most important times in an individual’s life is during adolescence. During this important time youth are in need of firm and positive …show more content…
Many juveniles lack supervision and their parents may not have the time to keep an eye on these children for a lengthy period of time. There are some parents that actually condone the wrongful acts that their children may be committing; therefore, if the social structure at home is condoning delinquent behavior, juvenile delinquency will begin. Hirschi continues to explain that although it is important, the juvenile that is in question may consider his parents opinion, but parental reaction may not be sufficient enough to deter him or her from the act (Flexon, Greenleaf, Lurigio, …show more content…
The norms and values taught to those individuals as an adolescent should be to obey how society works in normal terms. The person actually evaluates the consequences regarding their decision to commit a violent act. This decision making process can be referred to as “stakes in conformity.” From very early in a child’s life they should hopefully learn the difference between “right” and “wrong”. This understanding has a great effect on how youth evolve and adapt in a normal society. For example, if a child is raised in a home where drugs are bought, sold, and used regularly, then that child has a greater chance of having involvement with drugs in the future. For this reason, it is important to evaluate each child/teen individually to understand their personal

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Hirschi's Theory Of Crime
    • 183 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Hirschi's Theory Of Crime

    In developing his theory, Hirschi began by looking at they typical criminal, whom he found to be a young man who grew up in a fatherless home in an urban slum, who had a history of difficulty in school, and who was unemployed. Hirsute identified the social situation of the typical criminal, however, he assumed that those most likely to commit crimes are least likely to be concerned the wishes and expectations of others, have the free time to do so, have little to lose if caught, and are least likely to accept the moral beliefs underlying the law. He further implied that those most likely to commit crimes lack the four elements of the social bond that results in conformity with prosocial behavior: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief.…

    • 183 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Summary Of Neglected Youth
    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Summary Of Neglected Youth

    The author developed a story based on his and other Wes's everyday struggle while growing up, which invites the reader to the most private and personal realm of one's life. Both characters faced difficult decision that were disproportionate to their age. The main lesson I would take out from this book, is that involvement in criminal activities has a short term gratification which does not result in beneficial outcomes. One can argue that circumstances force us to act a certain way or do certain things that usually we do not do. However, it is possible to escape crime and criminal behavior by having strong and supportive family, peers, mentors, and authoritative figures that one learns to respect.…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    What Are Rios's Study Of Minority Youth In The Ghetto?
    • 1630 Words
    • 7 Pages

    What Are Rios's Study Of Minority Youth In The Ghetto?

    Central to this take on delinquency is the idea that criminal behavior is learned behavior (Sutherland and Cressey). This is to say that it is not an inherited trait, but a behavior that has been picked up by association with those engaging in delinquency (Sutherland and Cressey). Much of this learned behavior comes from the observation of how those around you view legal codes (Sutherland and Cressey). There are those whom view legalities as rules to live by and those whom do not (Sutherland and Cressey). While this tends to reference socialization among peers, a more unique account for this theory can be taken by the examination of a lack of protection afforded to these profiled youths and their developing understanding that legal codes do not offer them the same protection they might a white male coming from a higher socio-economic background.…

    • 1630 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Juvenile Crime Prevention
    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Juvenile Crime Prevention

    Any severe disturbance in one or both parents can produce a devastating negative impact on a juvenile”(“Why Juveniles Commit Crimes”, Yale). Therefore, this expands on a family being an important part of a juvenile 's development because they are one of the biggest influences and juveniles tend to conform to rules in their family setting. When juveniles are in families with no good role models or the absence of a family member it raises the risk of them committing crimes and receiving harsh consequences. Juveniles are mentally unable to make good judgments and if the people around them who have a vast impact on their lives were positive influences the juveniles would not be impelled to commit crimes leading to imprisonment, so why should some…

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Social Bond Theories In Health And Social Care
    • 125 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Social Bond Theories In Health And Social Care

    The next process for criminologist is to approach policy implication for each theory provided. For example, a more macro level theory like anomie strain theory would suggest policies be geared towards reducing the strain between cultural norms and institutional means. If more pathways are created that allow individuals to gain conventional cultural goals with acceptable pathways. Like creating jobs for previous individuals with criminal records. Also, policy implication from a more micro level perspective like social bond theory, would employ retaining the 4 components of the social bond theory.…

    • 125 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Nikolas Travis Hirsch's Social Bonding Theory
    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Nikolas Travis Hirsch's Social Bonding Theory

    Criminals come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and different walks of life. There are so many factors that can contribute to a person being the way that they are. Just as there are so many theories that can explain why a person is involved in the life of crime. Many professionals have come up with many different theories throughout the years to help explain what factors could prompt a person to become a criminal. Six different types of criminals could have six different types of theories to explain their behavior.…

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Impact Of Hirschi's Social Bond Theory On The Juvenile Justice System
    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Impact Of Hirschi's Social Bond Theory On The Juvenile Justice System

    However, some of the findings seem to question some aspects of this theory. It is my opinion that further research needs to be done to determine whether Hirschi’s 1969 theory is still a good predictor of delinquency. Based on Hirschi’s 1969 theory and scholars that replicated his work showed their studies have had a positive result on our juvenile justice…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Prison Boom
    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Prison Boom

    When dissecting the effects of the prison boom, one may be tempted to overlook the children involved. The epidemic of mass incarceration has been one of the most devastating sociopolitical issues of the past three decades. Not only was the prison boom facilitated, it was engineered. There were policy’s put into place that geared there effort towards a specific demographic which untimely lead to the mass incarceration that America sees today. One could summarize that the steady rise in the prison population could be attributed to get tough on crime legislation.…

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Agnew's Strain Theory
    • 1841 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Agnew's Strain Theory

    In the 1950’s and the 1960’s there was a war on poverty. The strain theories was the most used, and was the theories of choice by criminologist to solving crimes, and had an enormous effect on public policy. Criminologist strain theories in the 1980’s put the earlier strain theories under attack by arguing the theories had little effect on crime research. The newer criminologist argued that the older theories should be abandoned (Agnew, 1985). The earlier strain theories came under attack because the theories was unable to explain why crime rates peak during adolescence, and the study using self-reports measuring of crime revealed relationships between social class and delinquency is weaker than most criminologist thought previously (Agnew,…

    • 1841 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Drift Theory Paper
    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Drift Theory Paper

    This relationship depends on outside boundaries that would more often than not keep adolescents in line getting to be weaker after some time. Two sociologists Skyes and Matza estimated that five procedures can be utilized to disregard ethical quality: refusal of obligation, dissent of harm, foreswearing of casualties, engage higher loyalties, and judgment of condemners. Outfitted with these systems supporting criminal conduct gets to be less demanding and less demanding. The occupation of sociologists who interact with adolescents like this is to help them reconnect with their kindred understudies furthermore their surroundings. This is done by helping the adolescent delinquents look at their activities and how they influence others.…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Travis Hirschi's Causes Of Delinquency
    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Travis Hirschi's Causes Of Delinquency

    The major focus of Hirschi in this book was find an understanding of the causes of juvenile delinquent actions. There are four factors in a child’s life that helps secure the bond. Attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief (Hirschi, T. (1969) pg. 67). Children that are lacking any of these “bonds” have a high chance of acting out towards others in a physical, emotional, or vocal way because they do not have emotional stability to know how it affects others (Hirschi, T. (1969) pg. 69).…

    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Childhood Family
    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Childhood Family

    Family structure is another important factor that contributes to drug statistics. Depending on how parents raise their kids can determine if they will engage in deviant behaviors. According to Cubbins and Klepinger (2007), single-parents allow their children to engage in deviant behaviors and activities because they are the only one’s responsible for their children and they cannot be watching them 24/7, thus, allowing kids to do whatever they…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Prison Recidivism
    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Prison Recidivism

    Tripodi sees the period from which inmates are released to when they desist from crime or otherwise recidivate as a transitional period, one in which inmates often fail and end up back in prison (Tripodi). In fact, in a study conducted by the Bureau of Justice that sought to examine the recidivism rate among a sample of 300,000 prisoners it was found that within three years of release twenty-five percent of this sample overall were re-sentenced to prison for committing a new criminal offense (Tripodi). In light of this information, Tripodi sought to study whether or not a released inmate with certain social bonds (specifically employment and marriage) was less likely to recidivate than an inmate that did not have such business and personal relationships. The life-course theory of criminology suggests that these social bonds do indeed reduce recidivism, and as a proponent of the theory Tripodi utilized it to provide the basis for his study. More specifically, the life-course theory postulates that “bonding with families, work, and communities reduces criminal behavior over the life-course regardless of delinquent and antisocial backgrounds” (Tripodi).…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Adolescents: Substance Abuse In The United States
    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Adolescents: Substance Abuse In The United States

    Teenagers see parents and adults abuse harder substances and will view it as okay to do the same. It is said that “parents play a key role in preventing juvenile drug abuse” and that “parents who set clear and reasonable rules and enforce them consistently, who provide appropriate supervision, and who communicate their expectations about drug use reduce the likelihood that their adolescents will abuse drugs” (“Juvenile Drug…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Life Course Theory: The Life Cycle Of Juvenile Delinquency
    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Life Course Theory: The Life Cycle Of Juvenile Delinquency

    Juvenile delinquency is a complicated and complex issue with a multitude of underlying causes and reasoning behind why it happens. Years of research and studies have taken place across generations to aid in a better understanding what factors contribute to it and what should be done to prevent it. Developmental Theory takes aim at the life cycle of juvenile delinquency from beginning to the epilogue. Life Course Theory lends reason to the idea that a combination of personality and environment shape and child into a delinquent. Latent trait points to physiology reasons.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings