Ties to Conventional Institutions and Delinquency: Estimating Reciprocal Effects

Social control theory hypothesizes that ties to conventional institutions control or inhibit most people most of the time from acting on deviant motives. Our research examines the relationship between juvenile delinquency and ties to conventional institutions, defined by recent researchers as attachment to parents and school. Assuming a recursive causal structure, extant research regresses delinquency on social attachment. The findings, showing a negative effect of attachment on delinquency, have been used to support social control theory. We question the recursiveness assumption. It seems reasonable to assume that delinquency is as likely to affect attachment as attachment is to affect it. Our research estimates a nonrecursive model using OLS crosslag and simultaneous equation methods. The findings suggest that the effects are reciprocal and contingent on social status and, thus, raise serious questions about the validity of extant research as a test of social control theory. (abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1985. Copyright © 1985 by the American Sociological Association) Social Control Theory Delinquency Causes Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Offender Social Attachment 07-02