RT Article
T1 Self-control and criminal opportunity
JF Criminal justice and behavior
VO 25
IS 1
SP 81
OP 98
A1 Longshore, Douglas
A2 Turner, Susan 1954-
LA English
YR 1998
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1640112588
AB In this study, the authors tested two hypotheses drawn from the general theory of crime. The first hypothesis is that low self-control is a major individual-level cause of crime. The second, that the effect of self-control is contingent on criminal opportunity. The measure of self-control used was a 23-item self-report index. To measure criminal opportunity, two proxy variables were used: gender and crime-involved friends. Crime measures included number of criminal acts of force and number of criminal acts of fraud reported in a 6-month recall period by a sample of 522 criminal offenders. Self-control was lower among offenders reporting more crimes of force and fraud, but the variance explained by self-control was low in each case. The relationship between self-control and fraud crimes was contingent on criminal opportunity, but the relationship between self-control and force crimes was not. Implications of these findings for the general theory of crime are reviewed
K1 Kontrolltheorie
K1 Kriminalität
K1 Selbstkontrolle
K1 Allgemeine Kriminalitätstheorie