The Social Control Theory is a criminological theory created by Hirschi. According to Hirschi, the bond to society is a strong cord consisting of four interwoven strands: attachment, commitment, involvement and belief[1]. Strong social bonding, which is developed through adequate socialization processes, can control people from committing crimes. For example, if one has a strong social bonding, he is more likely to respect commonly agreed moral values, such as respecting other people’s free will and not trying to forcefully impose one’s will on other people.
Here are the reasons why the case can be explained by social control theory. First, from the attachment perspective, according to Hirschi, persons become attached to their parents (perhaps the most significant strand of the bond); this later spread to attachment to peers, teachers and other persons. The more intimate, warm and intense a person’s relationships with others, the more attached the person is to society and consequently the less likely the person is to violate society’s rules[2]. In the case, most of the gang members come from broken family, they had a low level of parental attachment and inadequate socialization process, and it fosters the formation of unconventional attitudes which the gangsters think that violence can solve problems. Moreover, adequate socialization can help one to know and care about the consequences of his or her behavior. As a result, the gangsters are involved in delinquency.
The second perspective is commitment. For adolescents, the initial stage of commitment is to educational success; the second is to a high-status occupation[3]. Most of the gang members have a low academic success, which results in a high likelihood to involve in delinquency. Besides, the gangsters expect each other to involve in the case because they belong to the same group.
The third perspective is involvement. Since the gang members in the case have joined adult activities such as smoking and drinking and have a low level of orientation towards future, they have a higher chance to involve in delinquency.
To conclude, the gangsters have weak social bonds because of low level of parental attachment, commitment and involvement. As a result, they are more likely to commit crimes and delinquency, such as the crime committed in this case.
[1] Ross Lawrence(1983), Determinants of delinquency: A Longitudinal Analysis of Social Control and Differential Association Theories p.15
[2] Ross Lawrence(1983), Determinants of delinquency: A Longitudinal Analysis of Social Control and Differential Association Theories, Ross Lawrence, p.16
[3] Ross Lawrence(1983), Determinants of delinquency: A Longitudinal Analysis of Social Control and Differential Association Theories p.17
