The General Theory of Crime and Recidivism: The Effects of Self-control on Rearrest and Reincarceration among a Large Sample of Prisoners in Texas

• In Event: The LoneStar Project: Factors Affecting the Health, Victimization, Retention, and Recidivism of Gang and Non-gang Members nearing Release

Abstract

Criminologists have long observed a positive and strong correlation between past and future offending. This correlation has added value when considering that approximately 45-50% of former prisoners are rearrested within 1 year. One established source of criminal and deviant behavior, low self-control, has largely remained outside the purview of recidivism studies. Empirical work has established a link between self-control and recidivism, but this research has been based on relatively low-risk offender populations, non-representative samples, and abbreviated measures of self-control. Additionally, recent literature now shows self-control to be less stable than Gottfredson and Hirschi purport it to be, allowing for the possible influence of institutional context. This study examines the relationship between self-control and recidivism using data from the LoneStar Project, a study consisting of a representative sample of 802 prisoners interviewed several days prior to their release in 2016. Measures of self-control are based on the Brief Self-Control scale and measures of recidivism include arrest and reincarceration 12 months post-release. Results of this study will shed light on the individual differences that lead to the desistance or continuation of crime among released prisoners, as well as add to the current knowledge of the generalizability of the general theory of crime.

Authors

• Jennifer Tostlebe, University of Colorado Boulder

• Travis C. Pratt, University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute

• David Pyrooz, University of Colorado Boulder

• Scott Decker, Arizona State University