Testing the invariance hypothesis of interaction between self-control and opportunities: Results of cross-national analysis of samples of youth.

• In Event: Youth Offending and Victimization: Results of the Second Wave of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD2)

Abstract

This paper tests the cross-national generalizability of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of crime using a sample of 67,000 12-15 year old pupils in 30 countries. Research shows that opportunities amplify or moderate the effects of low self- control on crime (eg. Hay and Forrest 2008). In previous work (Marshall and Enzmann 2012),we reported that analysis of international Self-Report Delinquency project data ( ISRD2) showed that both self-control and opportunities had a main effect on delinquency in six of the country clusters, but in three of the clusters (Post-Socialist, Latin America, and Northern Europe) the interaction between opportunities and self-control was not significant under controlled conditions. The current paper builds on this finding, and aims to provide a better theoretical specification of the link between opportunities and self-control , using a model including neighborhood disorganization, family bonding and parental supervision, gender and country cluster.

Authors

• Ineke Haen Marshall, Northeastern University

• Dirk Enzmann, University of Hamburg