Self Control Theory Of Crime

The organizing concept of this study is the self-control theory or the general theory of crime (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). The theory posits that lack of self-control in an individual can greatly affect one’s criminal behavior. Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) contended that self-control is nurtured during the childhood of an individual, where child-rearing played a vital role in developing the child’s self-control.

Accordingly, low self-control manifests itself in the “absence of nurturance, discipline, or training.” They further argued that absence of development of self-control can result to low level of self-control (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). Other studies have found that low levels of self-control are correlated with criminal

Victim precipitation theory argues that there are victims who actually initiated the confrontation that led to their injuries and deaths. Although this was the result of the study of only one type of crime, the idea was first raised that victims also might play a role in the criminal activity.

The victim precipitation theory views victimology from the standpoint that the victims themselves may actually initiate, either passively or actively, the criminal act that ultimately leads to injury or death. During passive precipitation, the victim unconsciously exhibits behaviors or characteristics that instigate or encourage the attack.

A number of theories have been advanced to explain criminal victimization. Lifestyle theory, for example, argues that certain lifestyles increases one's exposure to criminal offenses and increases the risk of victimization, while other lifestyles might reduce risk. For example, increased risk would be likely if a person is single, associating with other young men (who are at greater risk for criminal activity), living in urban areas, and going to public places late at night. Reduced risk would be associated with staying home at night, living in a rural area, being married and staying at home, and earning more money. According to this explanation, the probability of crime depends partially on the activities of the

Instead, self-control has been found to exert both direct and indirect effects on victimization. For instance, associating with deviant peers and engaging in risky behaviors (such as unmonitored social activities) have also been found to increase the probability of victimization independent of one’s level of self-control (Franklin, 2011; Schreck et al., 2002; Stewart et al.,