Bullies, fights and guns: Self-control theory as an explanation for juvenile use of intimidation and violence

Examinations of juvenile violence have largely been limited in both the scope of behaviors studied and the variety of theories used to explain these actions. This study addresses these issues by applying a test of Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) general theory of crime to an examination of a wide range of violent and intimidating acts. Specifically, the effects of self-control and opportunity on bullying, righting and weapon related behaviors are tested. This analysis finds that greater self-control, as measured by a combination of attitudinal and behavioral items, significantly decreases all forms of intimidation and violence examined. Similarly, greater opportunity, operationalized as a combination of parental supervision, participation in unstructured activities, and peer deviance, increases each form of behavior. In addition, each model provides support for the theoretically based hypothesis that greater self-control decreases opportunity. Therefore, this study provides a great deal of support for self-control theory