Lastly Hirschi's Bonding Theory Analysis

Coming from a family structure of violence may most likely affect an individual 's behavior in the future. A research study determined that there is a 5 to 35% chance that children may experience physical abuse and 10-20% will have had witnessed domestic violence during childhood (Grawe and Moffitt 3) My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King by Reymundo Sanchez is a recollection of his memories growing up as a Latin King, the biggest violent gang in Chicago. Growing up in a home of violence made Sanchez inherit the same traits. The gangs gave Sanchez of sense of belonging, that he did not have with his own family. As Sanchez began to mature he realized the truth about gangs which persuaded him to leave it. Four theories are used

Misconduct is prone to happen when the individuals bond to society is weakened (Reid, 165). There are four components to this theory attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Sanchez did have an attachment to his gang. He cared how they thought of him. For instance, when Sanchez first become a gang member he wanted to be respected by others so he would get into fights and do drive by shootings in order to gain that respect. In this theory Hirschi explains that peers can have a control on your behavior especially those who do not abide by the law. Since Sanchez did not have the attachment to a parent he sought to find it in the gang which contradicts the idea that the lack of attachment can lead to misconduct in teens. The idea of an attachment in the text refers to it positively however in the context of the novel it was a negative one thus leading him to crime. Moreover, commitment is “the investment one has in activities” that will be of benefit to the individual. Towards the end of the novel Sanchez began to commit himself to change. Sanchez also became to become involved with working. He decided to get jumped out of the gang so that he would avoid losing the privileges of working at a university (293). Eventually he wanted to go to college and pursue a career. He also reduced his smoking habits. The commitment component explains that if a student is busy with an education then they are less likely to engage in criminal activity because they do not want to jeopardize it. Although Sanchez was not a student at the university he still showed a sense of commitment to getting his life back together. Being involved in an activity or overall being involved in something keeps an individual from engaging in criminal activity. The belief component was not shown in Sanchez. The component of belief means that the individual accept the general norms and laws society has