Citation
Lafleur, Ryan (2017). Making it on the outside: Unravelling the effects of self-control and informal social control in reintegration.
Abstract
The effects of self-control and informal social control on adult criminality have been well documented in the criminological literature. However, very little of this research has extended these theories to the area of reintegration which has become a prominent subarea of criminology. The increased focus on reintegration by criminologists, policy-makers, and service-providers has been precipitated by the growing number of individuals being processed through criminal justice systems in the United States, Canada, and other countries. Using data from Wave 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (‘Add Health’), this retrospective cross-sectional study examines the independent and interdependent effects of self-control and informal social control on self-reported general crime, four crime subtypes, alcohol consumption, and marijuana use among an American sample of formerly convicted young adults. This study provides the reader with a snapshot of whether these theories can explain these outcomes during young adulthood. The sample was further divided according to sanction type (probation and prison), in order to capture any differences in self-control and informal social control based on the type of punishment received. The results provide the most support for informal social control in explaining crime and alcohol use among the full sample and prisoner subsample, with self-control being most relevant for predicting marijuana use and crime among the probation subsample. This study also provides little support for an interdependent relationship between self-control and informal social control. This thesis concludes by discussing the implications that these theories have on reintegration and desistance.
URL
http://hdl.handle.net/10214/11469Reference Type
Thesis/Dissertation
Book Title
Sociology and Anthropology
Author(s)
Lafleur, Ryan
Series Author(s)
O'Grady, William
Year Published
2017
Volume Number
PhD
Pages
179
Publisher
University of Guelph
City of Publication
Guelph, ON
Reference ID
9231
