Linking gender, minority group status and family matters to self-control theory: A multivariate analysis of key self-control concepts in a youth-gang context

Abstract

The variable roles of family, gender, and race are underdeveloped in Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime, also called self control and propensity-event theory. Using cross-sectional data generated as part of the National Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training program, we assessed the links between the self-reported gang involvement of 5,935 eighth-grade public school students residing in eleven widely dispersed cities and their levels of self-control, gender, minority group status, and family context. We found that youths with low self-control levels reported that they were more deeply involved in gangs than youths with high self-control, as were youths who were not closely monitored by their parents. We also found differences by gender, minority group status, and family structure. This article explores the limitations and implications of these findings for gang research, theory, and juvenile justice practice.