title: Parenting, self-control, and delinquency: examining the applicability of Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime to South Korean youth.
abstract: Limited studies have examined whether self-control fully mediates the effect of parenting on deviant behavior beyond Western cultures. Using a sample of 882 South Korean middle and high schools students, this article examines the applicability of Gottfredson and Hirschi's argument about the role of parenting in self-control theory in the context of Asian culture. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) suggest the relationships among parenting, self-control, and delinquency hold in South Korean culture: Parenting has only an indirect effect through self-control on delinquency. The findings of multigroup SEM, however, indicate that gender differences exist in the relationships among parenting, self-control, and delinquency. This study provides support for cultural invariance of self-control theory but suggests that more studies examining gender differences and interaction between gender and race in the theory are required.
authors.affiliation: State University of New York, Brockport, NY, USA yjo@brockport.edu.
authors.forename: Youngoh
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.affiliation: Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D003415:Crime / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000208:ethnology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D016487:Parenting / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011582:Psychological Theory; D056910:Republic of Korea; D000068356:Self-Control / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012945:Social Values; D013694:Temperament
keywords: South Korea; gender differences; parenting; self-control theory; structural equation modeling