Low Self-Control, Peer Delinquency, and Crime: Considering Gendered Pathways

• Author: Carter Hay,Jorge Luis Hernandez,Brian J. Stults
• Date: 01 November 2021
• Published date: 01 November 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/00224278211001416
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Low Self-Control,

Peer Delinquency,

and Crime:

Considering Gendered

Pathways

Brian J. Stults

1

, Jorge Luis Hernandez

1

,

and Carter Hay

1

Abstract

Objectives: We extend prior research by considering how low self-control

and peer delinquency may work together in a mediating process whereby

low self-control increases association with delinquent peers, which in turn

increases criminal offending. Further, we draw on gender crime research to

suggest that the indirect effect of self-control on offending will be greater

for boys than girls. Methods: We use three waves of data from the Project

on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods to test these hypoth-

eses for violent offending, pr operty offending, and substan ce use, using

multi-group multilevel generalized structural equation models that address

issues of time ordering, spuriousness, and the measurement of criminality.

Results: The hypothesized mediation process is supported by our results.

We also find that the indirect effect of low self-control on violence and

property crime is greater for boys, primarily driven by a stronger effect of

1

College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Brian J. Stults, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University,

112 S. Copeland Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.

Email: bstults@fsu.edu

Journal of Research in Crime and

Delinquency

ªThe Author(s) 2021

Article reuse guidelines:

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DOI: 10.1177/00224278211001416

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2021, Vol. 58(6) 666–709

delinquent peers for boys. In contrast, and in support of expectations, the

results for substance use reveal little gender difference. Conclusions: We

conclude that rather than treati ng self-control and peer delinq uency as

competing explanations, we should view them as working together to affect

crime and delinquency. Moreover, researchers must give careful attention

to gender differences in the pathways to offending.

Keywords

self-control theory, control theories, criminological theory, delinquent

peers, juvenile delinquency, gender, mediation

The concepts of low self-control and delinquent peer association are central

to crime causation research, and for good reason. They are the core expla-

natory variables in self-control theory (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990) and

social learning theory (Akers 1998; Sutherland 1949), two of the more

prominent criminological theories. The two are also among the most exam-

ined causes of crime, and multiple reviews and meta-analyses provide

convincing evidence of their strong effects (Agnew and Brezina 2015;

Krohn and Lane 2015; Pratt and Cullen 2000; Pratt et al. 2010). Indeed,

the criminological literature is replete with references to such things as “the

strong link between self-control and ...crime” (Vazsonyi, Mikuska, and

Kelly 2017:59) and the “strong and persistent evidence of peer influence

in the etiology of delinquency” (Warr 2002:44).

There is, however, a conspicuous feature of the research on these vari-

ables. Aside from key exceptions (described below), low self-control and

delinquent peer association often are examined separately—with little

attention to how they may operate together to affect crime. Thus, the focus

is on the effects of low self-control or delinquent peer association, but not

both (Grasmick et al. 1993; Hay and Forrest 2006; Haynie and Osgood

2005; Matsueda and Anderson 1998; Meldrum, Young, and Weerman

2009). This tendency hinders criminological theory by ensuring that two

key pieces in the crime “puzzle” receive little integrative attention. Other

scholars have noted this void. Jennings and his colleagues (2013:413), for

example, called for greater attention to “the compatibility between

self-control and social learning theories.” Similarly, McGloin and Shermer

(2009) emphasized that it is “no longer productive to debate” which of these

theories is “correct” (p. 58), and Evans and his colleagues (1997:494) direct

attention to the “complex, mutually reinforcing” connections between

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Stults et al.

them. The key theme is clear: the nexus between low self-control, delin-

quent peer association, and crime should be further explored.

We address that need by proposing and testing a lon gitudinal causal

arrangement for the period of early to middle adolescence. We argue that

self-control in early adolescence affects the types of peers with whom an

adolescent later associates, and those peer associations, in turn, affect sub-

sequent crime. Central to this hypothesis is the idea that while low

self-control encourages self-selection into delinquent peer groups, peer

associations still exert a causal effect even when accounting for preexisting

differences in self-control. Thus, the effects of low self-control on crime are

at least partially indirect—low self-control affects how individuals sort

themselves into peer groups, and those peer groups influence later crime.

In testing this model, we ar e replicating the analy ses from a few prior

studies (Chapple 2005; Wright et al. 1999) that each suggested the value

of considering this mediating process to explain the long-term effects of low

self-control on crime.

However, we go beyond those studies to consider the critical question of

whether this process plays out differently for boys and girls. Our central

consideration is that this mediated model may be empirically supported less

for girls than for boys. As we discuss, there are important theoretical under-

pinnings for the possibility that delinquent peer associations increase crime

more among boys than among girls (Augustyn and McGloin 2013;

Giordano, Cernkovich, and Pugh 1986; Mears et al. 1998). This research

suggests that although delinquent peer associations may be a salient part of

adolescence for girls, the effects these associations have on behavior are

muted by girls’ “type-scripts” (norms of femininity that are learned through

gendered socialization) that present crime and aggression as incompatible

with feminine identities. Boys’ type-scripts, on the other hand, often

emphasize aggression and toughness in ways that may amplify the effects

of delinquent peers, and peer group interactions among boys may often

dwell upon status competitions that value risky and daring lines of action.

These possibilities point to a gendered pathway regarding the effects of low

self-control on offending behavior. Specifically, we anticipate that effects

of low self-control on offending will be more direct—that is, less mediated

by delinquent peer association—for girls.

Our study contributes to prior researchintwokeyways.First,few

studies have examined whether association with delinquent peers mediates

the effect of low self-control on delinquency, though several strong studies

suggest the promise in doing so (Chapple 2005; Wright et al. 1999). Thus,

the present analysis provides a useful replication of those efforts, doing so

668 Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 58(6)