Self-Control and Youth Victimization in Saudi Arabia: A Test of the Generality Thesis

• In Event: Self Control: Development, Measurement, and Associated Behaviors

Abstract

Research for two decades has revealed that low self-control has general effects on victimization across both domestic and international contexts. Extant international studies, however, have been undertaken in nations similar in culture and economy to the United States. Using data drawn from a stratified sample of 10th to 12th graders (n = 1,000) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the current project tests the generality thesis of low self-control in the under-studied social context in the Middle East. The results support that low self-control predicts differing types of victimization even after the lifestyle-routine activity variables (i.e., delinquent involvement, peer delinquency, and parental guardianship) are controlled. Implications are discussed.

Authors

• Victoria A. Chamberlain, Georgetown University

• Heejin Lee, Sam Houston State University

• Francis T. Cullen, University of Cincinnati

• John P. Wright, University of Cincinnati