Why Do They Do it? An Examination of the Intervening Mechanisms between “Social Control” Variables and Delinquency

Abstract

According to social control theory, adolescents low in attachment, commitment, and belief are more likely to engage in delinquency because they are free to satisfy universal human needs in the most expedient manner—which is often delinquency. This account of intervening processes has been challenged by strain and differential association/social learning theory. Among other things, it has been argued that (a) these social control variables also cause delinquency because they lead to strain and association with delinquent peers: and (b) the motivation for delinquency is variable, and these control variables only lead to delinquency among suitably motivated individuals, that is, individuals who are strained or who associate with delinquent peers. Data from the Youth in Transition Survey and the National Youth Survey provide support for these challenges.