Female Juveniles And Drug Use
You are a mother of a sixteen year old daughter. You are sitting at the police station posting bond for your child. She has been arrested because she was high on drugs and was buying drugs from a drug dealer. As you wait for your daughter to be released, you wonder how she got in this predicament in the first place. Well, if you are a self-control theorist or believe in the self-control theory, the answer would be as follows - she committed the crime because she has low self-control and did not consider the long-term consequences.
Overview of the Self-Control Theory
The self-control theory basically states that every individual faces opportunities to involve themselves in risky behavior. Those who have strong self-control, which is obtained in early childhood as a result of effective parenting, are able to resist participating in such behavior. Those who have weak self-control, a condition natural to all individuals that are not taught otherwise, tend to give in. "...self-control theory is presented as a general account that depicts low self-control as for all intents and purposes', the individual-level cause of crime" (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990). It also states that "criminal" behavior, defined as acts of force or fraud, is inherently gratifying so that individuals vary little in their motivation to do it.
This theory does not include the different reasons why an individual is attracted to crime as part of the process leading to criminal behavior. Instead, it states that "various crimes differ in their basic inherent appeal, presumably to all people, but that for any given crime, the attraction is equal for all." (Tittle & Botchkovan, 2005)
Although individuals are said to be attracted to criminal behavior because of its characteristics, not all individuals act in response. Those who do not, have adequate self-control to refrain from risky behavior that results in negative consequences.
In addition,...
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