The Role Of Social Bonds, Self-Control, And Specific Interventions On Outcomes For Serious Juvenile Offenders

Author

Tina Fowler, Prairie View A&M University

Date of Award

12-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Discipline

Juvenile Justice

Abstract

Hirschi’s (2008) Social Control theory posits that the strength or weakness of social bonds (i.e., attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief) may impact the likelihood of offending. Youth who enter the juvenile justice system often have weakened social bonds to family, school, peers, and the community, which may contribute to a higher likelihood of offending, future involvement in the juvenile justice system, and other negative outcomes. The current study examined the impact of social bonds, self-control, and specific interventions on offending among a sample of serious juvenile offenders from the Research on Pathways to Desistance dataset. This longitudinal dataset includes a sample of 1,354 serious juvenile offenders responsible for serious offenses. A series of negative binomial regressions were conducted to assess the impact of race, gender, social support, involvement in community activities, motivation to succeed, moral disengagement, impulse control, individual community services, in-home counseling for youth/family, and school services on offending. Results indicate a significant impact of race, gender, involvement in community activities, motivation to succeed, moral disengagement, impulse control, individual community services, and school services. Results regarding receipt of community services provided partial support for the study hypotheses. They indicated that further research is needed to examine community-based services’ impact on offending for juvenile offenders, especially the contribution that specific interventions have in strengthening social bonds, improving self-control, and decreasing the likelihood of offending behavior. These results will help inform community-based services in strengthening social bonds, improving self-control, and decreasing the likelihood of offending behavior.

Committee Chair/Advisor

Myrna Cintron

Committee Co-Chair:

Kimberly Chism

Committee Member

Camille Gibson

Committee Member

Farrah Cambrice

Publisher

Prairie View A&M University

Rights

Date of Digitization

4/10/2023

Contributing Institution

John B Coleman Library

City of Publication

Prairie View

MIME Type

Application/PDF

Recommended Citation

Fowler, T. (2022). The Role Of Social Bonds, Self-Control, And Specific Interventions On Outcomes For Serious Juvenile Offenders. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/pvamu-dissertations/8