Causes of Delinquency

by Travis Hirschi

In Causes of Delinquency , Hirschi attempts to state and test a theory of delinquency, seeing in the delinquent a person relatively free of the intimate attachments, the aspirations, and the moral beliefs that bind most people to a life within the law. In prominent alternative theories, the delinquent appears either as a frustrated striver forced into delinquency by his acceptance of the goals common to us all, or as an innocent foreigner attempting to obey the rules of a society that is not in position to make the law or define conduct as good or evil. Hirschi analyzes a large body of data on delinquency collected in Western Contra Costa County, California, contrasting throughout the assumptions of the strain, control, and cultural deviance theories. He outlines the assumptions of these theories and discusses the logical and empirical difficulties attributed to each of them. Then draws from sources an outline of social control theory, the theory that informs the subsequent analysis and which is advocated here. Often listed as a "Citation Classic," Causes of Delinquency retains its force and cogency with age. It is an important volume and a necessary addition to the libraries of sociologists, criminologists, scholars and students in the area of delinquency.

Genres: Textbooks, Research

334 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1969

Reviews

[Roberto Yoed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pure ideology that attempts to disprove, but fails miserably, Robert's K. Merton strain theory.

Travis tries to analyse other factors that cause delinquency, such as attachment to peers and school, rather than repression and imposition of social goals, or income (variables that Robert emphasizes) to move away from the topic of class struggle.

Travis has the audacity to affirm that most prisons are incorporated by all social classes (not only low income ones), ignoring completely empirical data (as if the demography was the same or the elite was judged).

Also, in a racial note, Travis comes to the tragic conclusion that african-americans are the group with more delinquents because of their race. Clearly an idealist analysis of reality that ignores the material conditions of social groups that are historically marginalized: the author doesn't consider income, infrastructure, accessibility to public services, discrimination, historical processes, etc.

I'd recommend this only to study how bourgeois sciences conceive not only delinquency and the whole social spheres, but reality itself as a product of idealist and metaphysical prejudices.

[Maddie Boersma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously heavy on the theory and result interpretation, which I had to push through. I did come to enjoy his snarky commentary on strain. I love arguing theorists.