The control theory position

If economic stress in the absence of social supports increases the risk of parenting behaviour which is neglectful or abusive or is marked by harsh, inconsistent, erratic discipline, then does such behaviour, in turn, increase the risk of juvenile involvement in crime? If it does, are all the effects of economic stress on delinquency mediated through parenting deficiencies? If they are, is the relationship between parenting defects and delinquency direct, or are the effects of inadequate parenting on delinquency mediated through some other process, such as association with delinquent peers? These questions form the central focus of this chapter.

The classical answer to them was given by control theory. The theory rejects the hypothesis that economic stress or association with delinquent peers plays any role in the production of delinquency. However, it is entirely consistent with the proposition that parenting behaviour which is neglectful or abusive or is marked by harsh, inconsistent and erratic discipline increases the risk of juvenile involvement in crime. In the original version of the theory (Hirschi 1969) inhibitions about involvement in crime are acquired partly as a result of attachments which form between juveniles and their parents or other law-abiding authority figures, partly as a result of commitments to conventional society, partly as a result of involvement in conventional activities and partly as a result of beliefs about the importance of adhering to conventional social norms. Defective parenting is treated by the theory as disruptive of these processes.