Hirschi's General Theory of Crime

Hirschi's General Theory of Crime

Attachment refers to one's interest in others. One's acceptance of social norms and the development of social conscious depend on attachment for other human beings. Hirschi views parents, schools, and peers as important social institutions for a person. “Attachment takes three forms--attachment to parents, to school, and to peers. While examining attachment to parents Hirschi found that juveniles refrain from delinquency due to the consequences that the act would most likely produce,” (White 1992) therefore putting such a relationship between parent and child in jeopardy. In some respect, can argue that this acts as a primary deterrent to engaging in delinquency. (Shoemaker 1990)

Strength, however, in such a deterrent would largely depend on the depth and quality of the parent-child interaction. The amount of time child and parent spend together are equally important, including intimacy in conversation and identification that may exist between parent and child. While examining the bond with school, Hirschi found that an inability to do well in school is linked with delinquency, through a series of chain events. He argued that academic incompetence leads to poor school performance, “which leads to a dislike of school, which leads to rejection of teachers and authority, which results in acts of delinquency.” (Hirschi 1969)He argued that one's attachment to school depends on how one appreciates the institution and how fellow peers and teachers receive that student. Hirschi also found that one's attachment to parents and school overshadows the bond formed with one's peers. (Hirschi 1993)

Hirschi first assumes that everyone has potential to become delinquent and criminal and it is social controls, not moral values, which maintain law and order. Without controls, he argues, one is free to commit criminal acts. He further assumes that a consistent value system exists and all of society is thus exposed to such a system. Moral codes are then defied by delinquents because their attachment to society is weak and he believes delinquents reject such social norms and beliefs. (Eddy 1998)

Social structural theories attempt to explain why people commit crimes as related to the social structure of society. They are macro theories that address the broader questions about differences across societies or among major groups in a society. Social structural theories involve factors that can affect the individual but are beyond the control of the individual to change. “They attempt to relate the extent of the crime and why they commit the crime to the social structure.” (White 1992) Social structural theories do not simply try to locate individuals above or below one another in the social structure; they try to locate individuals in terms of their relationship to one another within the structure.

The central approaches to the study of deviant behavior often emphasize the importance of relationships with significant others. For example, Social Control Theory focuses on the role of social bonds and the extent to which variation in bonding with the family is associated with delinquent behavior. (Shoemaker 1990) Accordingly, the strength and quality of ...