Investigating the Interrelations among Social Control Variables and Conformity

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Control theorists' have argued that subcultural and anomic theories of deviance fail to account for the consistent findings that most adolescents engage in delinquent activities, that most "drift out" of delinquency as they mature, and that much of their involvement in delinquent activities is sporadic and situationally induced.Recent proponents of these theories feel that the stress on deviance as the problem and motivation as the answer account for such theoretical failures.From the control perspective, deviance is taken for granted-conformity must be explained.Control "theorists" 2 assume that everyone experiences pressures or motivations to deviate, that there is a common value system, and that deviant behavior is explained by variation in one's commitment to these conventional standards.The weaker this commitment, the greater the probability of delinquent activities.Differential involvement in delinquency, however, has been explained from two different control perspectives.Reckless" considers deviant and conforming behavior to be a result of the operation and interaction among inner and outer containments, environmental pressures and pulls, and organic and psychological pushes.Hirschi s contends that delinquent behavior becomes more probable as the strength of an adolescent's "bond" to society weakens.