The Empirical Status of Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime: A Meta‐analysis

To determine the empirical status of Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) “general theory of crime,” we conducted a meta‐analysis on existing empirical studies. The results indicate that, regardless of measurement differences, low self‐control is an important predictor of crime and of “analogous behaviors.” Also, low self‐control has general effects across different types of samples. Contrary to Gottfredson and Hirschi's position, however, the effect of low self‐control is weaker in longitudinal studies, and variables from social learning theory still receive support in studies that include a measure of low self‐control. Finally, we argue that meta‐analysis is an underutilized tool in discerning the relative empirical merits of criminological theories.