Summary Of Travis Hirschi's Social Control Theory

Gina Yu

American sociologist, Travis Hirschi, developed his own interpretation of the social control theory in regards to what makes people commit crimes. Hirschi’s social control theory argued that people who held strong holds or bonds to conventional society were less likely to commit crimes or display deviant behavior and vice versa. The key to his theory was the social bond and the four elements that it was composed of. These four elements were attachment, belief, commitment, and involvement. Hirschi especially emphasized the importance of attachment when it came to why he believed social bonds were the key to why people grew up and deviated. Attachment to conventional society such as parental figures, school, and even religious institutions

Chriss and published in the Sociology and Criminology Faculty Publications of Cleveland State University. Chriss states how Hirschi’s social control theory promotes attachment as a central and abiding factor of possible deviance in an individual. He also argues in this article that Hirschi’s social theory not only puts an emphasis on the social bond, but also on the self-control of the individual. Chriss believes that there is a direct correlation between “high levels of deviance and criminality respective of the strength or weakness of one’s social bonds” (Chriss pg. 1). In order to test these many hypothesis, a study was taken from a sample of juvenile adolescents who admitted to drug usage. A large majority of these kids did not have strong attachments to their parents or any parental figures. As a result of this lack of attachment, many of these adolescents had a skewed belief system on what they considered right and wrong. Instead they turned and identified themselves with “substance-using peers” (Chriss pg. 19). “The more weakened the groups to which [the individual] belongs, the less he depends on them” (Chriss pg. 5). Without that emotional closeness to a