Routine Activities, Self-Control, and Delinquency Trajectories: An African American Sample

• In Event: Self-Control, Deviance, and Delinquency: Integration and Innovations

Abstract

There has been a long-standing debate as to the role of criminal opportunity in Self-Control Theory (Gotffredson and Hirschi, 1990). Defining criminal opportunity as nested in individuals’ routine unstructured/unsupervised activities, Hay and Forrest (2008) have extended the self-control theory. They argued that individuals’ routine activities may interact with self-control in explaining crime. So far, only a couple of studies have tested their extension and they only examined routine activities in the family and peer groups. Thus there is a need for further research on the extension of Self Control Theory proposed by Hay and Forrest.

Using four waves of data collected from a sample of 889 African American youth in the Family Community Health Study (FACHS), this research examines whether routine activities in the family, school, religious institutions, and peer groups interact with self-control in predicting youth’s delinquency trajectories from age 10 to 20. We find that family routines during childhood and religious attendance during adolescence significantly interact with self-control in impacting boys’ delinquency trajectories over time. However, no significant effect is found for girls. The findings and implications of this research are discussed.

Authors

• Xiaoli Su, Troy University

• Ronald L. Simons, University of Georgia