Hirschi's Social Bond Theory Hirschi's social bonding theory argues that those persons who strong and abiding attachments to conventional society are less likely to deviate than persons who have shallow or weak bonds (Smangs, 2010). These bonds come in four interrelated forms, the first of which is attachment. Attachment, refers to the level of psychological affection one has for pro-social others and institutions. Parents and schools are of critical importance in this regard. Youths who form close attachments to their parents1 and schools will, by extension, experience greater levels of social control. The second type of bond is referred to as commitment. Commitment stresses the importance of the social relationships that people value, which they would not want to risk jeopardizing by committing criminal or deviant acts. People are less likely to misbehave when they know that they have something to lose. For juveniles, this could mean not wanting to look bad in front of friends, parents, or teachers for having committed a crime, something for which shame from those whose opinion of them matters would be a likely consequence. The third type of social bond is known as involvement, which relates to the opportunity costs associated with how people spend their time. Specifically, Hirschi tapped into the old philosophy that "idle hands are the devil's workshop" in that if people are spending their time engaged in some form of pro-social activity, then they are not, by definition, spending their time engaged in antisocial activity. The final type of...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now