Explore the fundamental causes of delinquency through the lens of Travis Hirschi's influential Social Control Theory. This theory posits that juvenile delinquency arises when an individual's bonds to society – attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief – are weakened, providing critical insights into preventing deviant behavior.
Social control and self-control theories offer critical frameworks for understanding the origins and prevention of criminal and deviant behavior. Social control theory examines how societal bonds and institutions prevent individuals from committing crimes, while self-control theory posits that a lack of individual self-discipline, often developed early in life, is the primary cause of deviance. These perspectives are fundamental to criminology, shaping policy and research on how both external and internal factors influence adherence to societal norms.