Stability of self-control: Hirschi's redefined self-control.
In 2004, Hirschi redefined self-control by using the framework of his social control theory while retaining assumptions of his original self-control theory. A few studies have provided supportive evidence for the relationship between the newly defined self-control and deviant behavior, whereas no study has tested stability hypothesis by using this new self-control. This is the first study that examines whether the stability hypothesis is still valid in the revised self-control theory. A recent longitudinal national sample of South Korean youths has been used for this purpose. Correlation analysis revealed moderate relationships among self-control measures for 5 years. Self-control differences across genders and across offenders/nonoffenders were significant and consistent. Finally, the results of growth-mixture modeling indicated that 89.5% of the sample exhibited stable group differences in self-control. These findings provide support for the stability thesis in the new version of self-control theory. The implications of these findings are discussed.
State University of New York, Brockport, USA yjo@brockport.edu.
Youngoh
Y
Jo
D000293:Adolescent; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011582:Psychological Theory; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012307:Risk Factors; D000068356:Self-Control / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic
group-based modeling approach; self-control theory; stability of self-control