An extension and refinement of Hirschi's social control theory: Analyzing interactions among the elements of the social bond.

Social control theory, as developed by Hirschi, has long been considered one of the more comprehensive examinations of the link between social factors and delinquency. Hirschi's four elements of the social bond serve to explain how weak ties to the social order can set the stage for a juvenile to become involved in delinquent acts. Following Hirschi's own test of the model, researchers have both replicated Hirschi's study and tested revised versions of it. These revisions have often involved the examination of possible interactive effects, as well as the addition of the variable of delinquent peers which has taken on considerable importance in the explanation of delinquent behavior. The present study is based on Hirschi's theoretical assumptions and attempts to reanalyze the four elements of the bond in terms of interactive effects. In addition, delinquent peers is examined to determine the role this variable plays, both alone and in interaction with the social bonding variables. Analysis consists primarily of comparisons of the explained variance, offered by different theoretical models, especially the contrast between additive and interactive models. Results show that interactions among the social bonding variables themselves do not lead to significant increases in explained variance. While the interaction of commitment and belief does show significance on occasion, there is no clear pattern to this interactive effect and it is not overwhelming in light of the numerous equations examined. The interactions between the delinquent peers variable and the social bonding variables led to the largest increases in explained variance. In particular, the combination of delinquent peers and social bonding explained forty percent of the variance in delinquency for the nonwhite subgroup. It must be highlighted that neither the elements of the social bond or delinquent peers, by themselves, explain inordinate amounts of delinquency. Results indicate that the most general causal model, for this sample, is a combination of decreased ties to the social order and the presence of an environment in which delinquent processes can be learned and practiced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]