An Integrated Test of Power-Control Theory by Delinquency Types: Assessing Additional Factors Predicting Adolescents’ Risk-taking Preferences

Abstract

Prior tests of power-control theory (“PCT”) have primarily utilized the U.S. or Canadian samples, lacked integration with other theoretical frameworks, and overlooked diverse offense types. This study aims to address these limitations by testing PCT while considering various criminogenic factors and assessing its relative significance across status, property, and violent offenses using an international sample. Structural equation modeling analysis reveals support for PCT’s core assumption that the gender effect on offending, wherein boys are more likely to commit offenses than girls, is less pronounced in egalitarian families than patriarchal families, particularly in status and violent offenses, but not in property offenses. However, other PCT assumptions were partially supported or not supported. We discuss implications for policy, theory, and future research.

Keywords

power-control theory gendered offending theory testing juvenile delinquency offending

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adler

(1975). Sisters in crime: The rise of the new female criminal. McGraw Hills.

Akers

R. L.

Jennings

W. G.

(2015). Social learning theory. In Piquero

A. R.

(Ed.), The handbook of criminological theory (pp. 230–240). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Anderson

J. C.

Gerbing

D. W.

(1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411–423.

Bacchini

Affuso

Aquilar

(2015). Multiple forms and settings of exposure to violence and values: Unique and interactive relationships with antisocial behavior in adolescence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(17), 3065–3088.

Bates

K. A.

Bader

C. D.

Mencken

F. C.

(2003). Family structure, power-control theory, and deviance: Extending power-control theory to include alternate family forms. Western Criminology Review, 4(3), 170–190.

Baumgartner

Homburg

(1996). Applications of structural equation modeling in marketing and consumer research: A review. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 13(2), 139–161.

Bettman

(2009). Patriarchy: The predominant discourse and fount of domestic violence. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 30(1), 15–28.

Blackwell

B. S.

(2000). Perceived sanction threats, gender, and crime: A test and elaboration of power-control theory. Criminology, 38(2), 439–488.

Blackwell

B. S.

(2003). Power-control and social bonds: Exploring the effect of patriarchy. Criminal Justice Studies, 16, 131.

10.

Blackwell

B. S.

Piquero

A. R.

(2005). On the relationships between gender, power control, self-control, and crime. Journal of Criminal Justice, 33, 1–17.

11.

Blackwell

B. S.

Reed

M. D.

(2003). Power-control as a between-and within-family model: Reconsidering the unit of analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32(5), 385–400.

12.

Bronfenbrenner

(1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.

13.

Cherewick

Lebu

Richards

Njau

P. F.

Dahl

R. E.

(2021). Promoting gender equity in very young adolescents: Targeting a window of opportunity for social emotional learning and identity development. BMC Public Health, 21, 1–18.

14.

Chesney-Lind

(2015). Gendered pathways into delinquency. In Cullen

F. T.

Wilcox

Lux

Johnson

C. L.

(Eds.), Sisters in crime revisited: Bringing gender into criminology (pp. 83–102). Oxford University Press.

15.

Crawford

T. N.

Cohen

Midlarsky

Brook

J. S.

(2001). Internalizing symptoms in adolescents: Gender differences in vulnerability to parental distress and discord. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11(1), 95–118.

16.

Dahrendorf

. (1959). Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society. Stanford University Press.

17.

Daly

Chesney-Lind

(1988). Feminism and criminology. Justice Quarterly, 5, 497–535.

18.

Development Services Group, Inc. (2023). Girls in the Juvenile Justice System. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/model-programs-guide/literature-reviews/girls-juvenile-justice-system

19.

Doll

W. J.

Xia

Torkzadeh

(1994). A confirmatory factor analysis of the end-user computing satisfaction instrument. MIS Quarterly, 18, 453–461.

20.

Eitle

Niedrist

Eitle

T. M.

(2014). Gender, race, and delinquent behavior: An extension of power-control theory to American Indian adolescents. Deviant Behavior, 35(12), 1023–1042.

21.

Eitle

T. M.

Eitle

(2015). Explaining the association between gender and substance use among American Indian adolescents: An application of power-control theory. Sociological Perspectives, 58(4), 686–710.

22.

Enders

C. K.

(2001). The impact of nonnormality on full information maximum-likelihood estimation for structural equation models with missing data. Psychological Methods, 6(4), 352.

23.

Farrell

A. D.

Sullivan

T. N.

(2004). Impact of witnessing violence on growth curves for problem behaviors among early adolescents in urban and rural settings. Journal of Community Psychology, 32(5), 505–525.

24.

Feld

B. C.

(2009). Violent girls or relabeled status offenders? An alternative interpretation of the data. Crime & Delinquency, 55, 241–265.

25.

Firth

C. L.

Hajat

Dilley

J. A.

Braun

Maher

J. E.

(2020). Implications of cannabis legalization on juvenile justice outcomes and racial disparities. American journal of preventive medicine, 58(4), 562–569.

26.

Forget-Dubois

Dionne

Lemelin

J. P.

Pérusse

Tremblay

R. E.

Boivin

(2009). Early child language mediates the relation between home environment and school readiness. Child Development, 80(3), 736–749.

27.

Fothergill

K. E.

Ensminger

M. E.

(2006). Childhood and adolescent antecedents of drug and alcohol problems: A longitudinal study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 82(1), 61–76.

28.

Fry

(2022, September 26). Women now outnumber men in the U.S. college-educated labor force. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/09/26/women-now-outnumber-men-in-the-u-s-college-educated-labor-force/

29.

Galambos

N. L.

Barker

E. T.

Almeida

D. M.

(2003). Parents do matter: Trajectories of change in externalizing and internalizing problems in early adolescence. Child Development, 74(2), 578–594.

30.

Gau

J. M.

(2010). Basic principles and practices of structural equation modeling in criminal justice and criminology research. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 21(2), 136–151.

31.

Gorman-Smith

Tolan

(1998). The role of exposure to community violence and developmental problems among inner-city youth. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 101–116.

32.

Grasmick

H. G.

Tittle

C. R.

Bursik

R. J.

Jr Arneklev

B. J.

(1993). Testing the core empirical implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 30(1), 5–29.

33.

Grasmick

H. G.

Hagan

Blackwell

B. S.

Arneklev

B. J.

(1996). Risk preferences and patriarchy: Extending power-control theory. Social Forces, 75(1), 177–199.

34.

Hadjar

Baier

Boehnke

Hagan

(2007). Juvenile delinquency and gender revisited. European Journal of Criminology, 4(1), 33–58.

35.

Hagan

Boehnke

Merkens

(2004). Gender differences in capitalization processes and the delinquency of siblings in Toronto and Berlin. British Journal of Criminology, 44(5), 659–676.

36.

Hagan

Gillis

A. R.

Simpson

(1979). The sexual stratification of social control: A gender-based perspective on crime and delinquency. British Journal of Sociology, 30, 25–38.

37.

Hagan

Gillis

A. R.

Simpson

(1985). The class structure of gender and delinquency: Toward a power-control theory of common delinquent behavior. American Journal of Sociology, 90(6), 1151–1178.

38.

Hagan

Gillis

A. R.

Simpson

(1990). Clarifying and extending power-control theory. American Journal of Sociology, 95(4), 1024–1037.

39.

Hagan

Hefler

Classen

Boehnke

Merkens

(1998). Subterranean sources of subcultural delinquency beyond the American dream. Criminology, 36(2), 309–342.

40.

Hagan

Simpson

Gillis

A. R.

(1987). Class in the household: A power-control theory of gender and delinquency. American Journal of Sociology, 92(4), 788–816.

41.

Hagan

Simpson

Gillis

A. R.

(1988). Feminist scholarship, relational and instrumental control, and a power-control theory of gender and delinquency. British Journal of Sociology, 39, 301–336.

42.

Hair

J. F.

Jr. Black

W. C.

Babin

B. J.

Anderson

R. E.

Tatham

R. L.

(2006). Multivariate data analysis (6th ed.). Prentice Education, Inc.

43.

Hill

G. D.

Atkinson

M. P.

(1988). Gender, familial control, and delinquency. Criminology, 26(1), 127–147.

44.

Hirtenlehner

Blackwell

B. S.

Leitgoeb

Bacher

(2014). Explaining the gender gap in juvenile shoplifting: A power-control theoretical analysis. Deviant Behavior, 35(1), 41–65.

45.

Holt

T. J.

Steinmetz

K. F.

(2021). Examining the role of power-control theory and self-control to account for computer hacking. Crime & Delinquency, 67(10), 1491–1512.

46.

Jackson

D. L.

Gillaspy

J. A.

Jr. Purc-Stephenson

(2009). Reporting practices in confirmatory factor analysis: An overview and some recommendations. Psychological Methods, 14(1), 6–23.

47.

Jensen

G. F.

Thompson

(1990). What’s class got to do with it? A further examination of power-control theory. American Journal of Sociology, 95(4), 1009–1023.

48.

Junger-Tas

Marshall

I. H.

Ribeaud

(2003). Delinquency in an international perspective: The international self-reported delinquency study (ISRD). Kugler.

49.

Junger-Tas

Ribeaud

Cruyff

M. J.

(2004). Juvenile delinquency and gender. European Journal of Criminology, 1(3), 333–375.

50.

Kang

Ahn

J. W.

(2021). Model setting and interpretation of results in research using structural equation modeling: A checklist with guiding questions for reporting. Asian Nursing Research, 15(3), 157–162.

51.

Kaplan

Hendricks

J. H.

Black

Blizzard

(1994). Children who survive after one parent has killed the other: A research study. In Chiland

Young

J. G.

(Eds.), Children and Violence (pp. 51–71). Aronson.

52.

Kline

R. B.

(2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). Guilford.

53.

Leiber

M. J.

Wacker

M. E. E.

(1997). A theoretical and empirical assessment of power-control theory and single-mother families. Youth & Society, 28(3), 317–350.

54.

Lilly

J. R.

Cullen

F. T.

Ball

R. A.

(2018). Criminological theory: Context and consequences (7th ed.). Sage publications.

55.

Lim

Lee

S. H.

Rhee

H. S.

(2020). Developmental trajectory and relationships between Adolescents’ social capital, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms: A latent growth model. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 34(5), 377–383.

56.

MacCallum

R. C.

Austin

J. T.

(2000). Applications of structural equation modeling in psychological research. Annual Review of Psychology, 51(1), 201–226.

57.

Marchetti

D. E.

(2005). Witnessing interparental violence as a child and adulthood attitudes toward aggression and violence (Publication No. 5736). [Master’s dissertation]. University of Montana. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5736

58.

Markina

Kask

(2013). The effects of family factors on alcohol consumption in three east-european countries. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 29(1), 53–69.

59.

Marshall

I. H.

Enzmann

(2012). Methodology and design of the ISRD-2 study. In Junger-Tas

Marshall

I. H.

Enzmann

Killias

Steketee

Gruszczynska

(Eds.), The many faces of youth crime (pp. 21–65). Springer.

60.

Mesch

G. S.

Fishman

Eisikovits

(2003). Attitudes supporting violence and aggressive behavior among adolescents in Israel: The role of family and peers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18(10), 1132–1148.

61.

Morash

Chesney-Lind

(1991). A reformulation and partial test of the power control theory of delinquency. Justice Quarterly, 8(3), 347–377.

62.

Nikolić

(2021). An attack against life and limb as a manner of committing extortion. In Pavlović

(Ed.), Yearbook Human Rights Protection: Right to Life, (pp. 289–302). Provincial Protector of Citizens – Ombudsman and Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research in Belgrade. https://eprints.uklo.edu.mk/id/eprint/9360/1/2021%20YEARBOOK.pdf

63.

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). (2012). NIBRS Offense Definitions. https://ucr.fbi.gov/nibrs/2012/resources/nibrs-offense-definitions

64.

Nye

F. I.

(1958). Family relationships and delinquent behaviors. John Wiley.

65.

OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book . (2022, July 8). Demographic characteristics of youth arrests, 2020. https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/statistical-briefing-book/crime/faqs/QA05104

66.

O’Keefe

(1997). Adolescents’ exposure to community and school violence: Prevalence and behavioral correlates. Journal of Adolescent Health, 20(5), 368–376.

67.

Okulicz-Kozaryn

(2010). Gender and family differences in adolescent’s heavy alcohol use: The power-control theory perspective. Health Education Research, 25(5), 780–791.

68.

Olthof

Goossens

F. A.

Vermande

M. M.

Aleva

E. A.

van der Meulen

(2011). Bullying as strategic behavior: Relations with desired and acquired dominance in the peer group. Journal of School Psychology, 49(3), 339–359.

69.

Parker

(2021, November 8). What’s behind the growing gap between men and women in college completion? Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/11/08/whats-behind-the-growing-gap-between-men-and-women-in-college-completion/

70.

Pingley

(2017). The impact of witnessing domestic violence on children: A systematic review (Publication No. 773). [Master’s dissertation]. University of St. Thomas. https://ir.stthomas.edu/ssw_mstrp/773

71.

Posick

Rocque

(2015). Family matters: A cross-national examination of family bonding and victimization. European Journal of Criminology, 12(1), 51–69.

72.

Pratt

T. C.

Cullen

F. T.

Sellers

C. S.

Thomas Winfree

Jr. Madensen

T. D.

Daigle

L. E.

Fearn

N. E.

Gau

J. M.

(2010). The empirical status of social learning theory: A meta-analysis. Justice Quarterly, 27(6), 765–802.

73.

Rhodes

J. E.

Fischer

(1993). Spanning the gender gap: Gender differences in delinquency among inner-city adolescents. Adolescence, 28, 879–889.

74.

Riggs

O’ Leary

K. D.

(1996). Aggression between heterosexual dating partners: An examination of casual model of courtship aggression. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 11(4), 519–540.

75.

Roth

P. L.

(1994). Missing data: A conceptual review for applied psychologists. Personnel Psychology, 47(3), 537–560.

76.

Scarborough

W. J.

Sin

Risman

(2019). Attitudes and the stalled gender revolution: Egalitarianism, traditionalism, and ambivalence from 1977 through 2016. Gender & Society, 33(2), 173–200.

77.

Schafer

J. L.

Graham

J. W.

(2002). Missing data: Our view of the state of the art. Psychological Methods, 7(2), 147.

78.

Schulze

Bryan

(2017). The gendered monitoring of juvenile delinquents: A test of power-control theory using a retrospective cohort study. Youth & Society, 49(1), 72–95.

79.

Sevilla-Sanz

(2010). Household division of labor and cross-country differences in household formation rates. Journal of Population Economics, 23, 225–249.

80.

Sijtsema

J. J.

Veenstra

Lindenberg

Salmivalli

(2009). Empirical test of bullies’ status goals: Assessing direct goals, aggression, and prestige. Aggressive Behavior, 35(1), 57–67.

81.

Singer

S. I.

Levine

(1988). Power-control theory, gender, and delinquency: A partial replication with additional evidence on the effects of peers. Criminology, 26(4), 627–648.

82.

Stapleton

L. M.

(2008). Variance estimation using replication methods in structural equation modeling with complex sample data. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 15(2), 183–210.

83.

Steenkamp

J. B. E.

van Trijp

H. C.

(1991). The use of LISREL in validating marketing constructs. International Journal of Research in marketing, 8(4), 283–299.

84.

Steffensmeier

Allan

(1996). Gender and crime: Toward a gendered theory of female offending. Annual Review of Sociology, 22(1), 459–487.

85.

Stevens

Morash

Chesney-Lind

(2011). Are girls getting tougher, or are we tougher on girls? Probability of arrest and juvenile court oversight in 1980 and 2000. Justice Quarterly, 28, 719–744.

86.

UN Women. (n.d.). Promoting men’s caregiving to advance gender equality. https://www.equimundo.org/resources/understanding-how-to-promote-mens-caregiving-to-advance-gender-equality/

87.

Walters

G. D.

(2016). Criminal thought content and criminal thought process as mediators of peer influence: Combined versus individual effects. Criminal Justice Review, 41(3), 318–334.

88.

Wells

L. E.

Rankin

J. H.

(1985). Broken homes and juvenile delinquency: An empirical review. Criminal Justice Abstracts, 17, 249–272.

89.

Williams

Allison

P. D.

Moral-Benito

(2018). Linear dynamic panel-data estimation using maximum likelihood and structural equation modeling. The Stata Journal, 18(2), 293–326.

90.

Zhong

Yuan

K. H.

(2011). Bias and efficiency in structural equation modeling: Maximum likelihood versus robust methods. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 46(2), 229–265.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.02 MB