Social control theory focuses on why some people do not commit deviant behaviours, such as illicit drug use. It proposes that bonding to conventional society constrains deviant conduct. In the book Causes of Delinquency, Hirschi distinguished four elements of social bonds: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. This study draws upon data from the 2012 Canadian Alcohol and Drug Monitor Survey to examine the effect of social control theory, specifically the element of attachment, on controlling cannabis use. This study also uses the element of attachment to interpret gender and rural/non-rural area differences in cannabis use. Two hypotheses are offered: (1) females are less likely to use cannabis than males because females have greater attachment to others; (2) rural residents are less likely to use cannabis than non-rural residents because rural residents have greater attachment to others. The research methods in the study are cross-tabulation analysis and binary logistic regression. The statistical analysis results support both hypotheses: females have a significantly lower rate of cannabis use than males and rural residents have a significantly lower rate of cannabis use than non-rural residents. Having greater attachment to others may be associated with a decreased rate of cannabis use. Policy and further research recommendations are made.

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This essay examines the differences between the mediation practices concering youth crime in the swedish cities of Kalmar and Växjö. The analysis are made with the use of quality interviews which we have linked together with the three theories of Social Control Theory, Restorative Justice and Transformative Mediation. There after we have compared the results with one and another. Results show that there both similarities and differences, both in the theoretical aspects and in the organisations, for example the coopiration with the prosecutors and the police.

The study aims to analyze the causes and treatments of spousal violence in Taiwan, to explore how Taiwanese people, abused women, and anti-spousal violence workers consider the causes of spousal violence and how they cope with it. Approaches are taken from the viewpoints of social system theory, resource theory and social control theory, and discourse analysis is made on quantitative and qualitative bases. The purpose is to manifest the causes of spousal violence, different tackling methods adopted by abused women from different family and cultural backgrounds, as well as the discrepancies of the third role played by anti-spousal violence workers. The study combines both macro- and micro-level approaches, integrating empirical research and grounded theory research as the methodology to account for the effects of resource variables and social bond variables on spousal violence in Taiwan, and also to probe into the dynamic process and coping modes from the angles of victims and the third role. The source of this study is ¡§Taiwan Social Change Survey¡¨Data , which was conducted by Institute of Sociology Academia Sinica in 2001. Quantitative analysis is based on the data collected, while qualitative analysis is made with in-depth interviews with 10 abused women and 18 anti-spousal violence workers. According to the empirical research of ¡§Taiwan Social Change Survey¡¨Data¡]2001¡^ , when samples of wives and husbands are analyzed respectively, traditional substantive resources are found to have significant differences to the understanding of spousal conflict treatments. As to non-substantive resources, the lower the level of domestic life satisfaction, the more probable marital violence will happen. On the husband side of social control model, it is discovered that the rarer the husband deals with his neighbors, the more likely he will commit violence. Furthermore, applying theories to the interviews with abused women, we found that in the original family, structural factors such as ethnic background, history of spousal violence; interactive factors such as ill communication, discrepancy in money values and attitudes towards child raising; individual factors such as the husband with patriarchal ideology, are all contributive to spousal violence. Thus, it is shown that both substantive resources (i.e. money and wealth) and non-substantive resources (i.e. level of marriage satisfaction and gender role attitude) are significantly correlated related to conjugal power. Then, inspecting the impact cultural context has on spousal violence, the study divides the abused victims¡¦ reaction modes into patriarchism, ritualism, equalitarianism, and idealism, based on family values and resources on father/son axis and husband/wife axis. The results indicate that as one possesses more resources and stronger connections with the society, one receives greater conjugal power, and is more likely to suggest or demand a more equal authoritative structure in marriage. On top of that, the interviews with anti-spousal violence workers show that the third role offers different treatments depending on to what degree and on what aspect it intervenes in spousal conflicts. Only by integrating educational, social, police, judicial, and medical units can we provide women in Taiwan with an effective anti-spousal violence strategy.

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Utilizing Social Control Theory, this study explores the role of participation in After School Programs, mentoring relationships, and commitment to school in reducing adolescent delinquency. This study uses local survey data of 556 youth attending Boys and Girls Clubs collected from 2010-2012. The negative binomial regression results indicate that increased club attendance is associated with reduced delinquency. This effect is mediated by the presence of a mentor and by the youths' commitment to school.

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I explore the relationships between hate group activity, community factors, and the likelihood of hate crime occurrence within a county area. I integrate considerations raised by Routine Activity and Social Control theorists as well as current hate crime literature to frame my concept of the hate manager, an agent of social control that utilizes hate crimes as a means of enacting extralegal self-help for hate groups. I explore the relationship between hate managers and hate crime by testing a model relating hate group activity and hate crime occurrences by location. Next, I correlate hate crime occurrences with hate group activity at the county level for the state of Virginia using public data. I find that a hate group's presence holds greater predictive power than nearly any other factor for hate crime likelihood. My findings illustrate the nature of hate crime as a means of social control; whereby hate groups act as a parochial order and maintain hierarchical relations between offenders and victims through means of disciplinary crimes. I conclude by outlining suggestions for future research into the role of the hate manager. / Master of Science / In my thesis, I ask the question of how hate groups methodically encourage where hate crimes occur. I do this by creating the concept of the hate manager. Hate managers are figures which influence would-be criminals into their illegal acts. They do this by stoking the fears necessary for them to act outside legal boundaries in reaction to some feeling of threat, an act known as self-help. Hate crimes, I argue, are a form of self-help where the feeling of threat is directed towards individuals belonging to some marginalized group. By looking at data collected by various agencies in the state of Virginia, I discover that the presence of a hate group in a county is a stronger predictor for such acts than any other factor for hate crime likelihood. By doing so, I demonstrate that hate crimes are a form of social control. That is, I argue that hate groups maintain a sense of order or ranking by means of illegal and disciplinary self-help in the form of hate crimes. I conclude my thesis by outlining suggestions for future exploration of the hate manager’s role.

Trots att barns relation till sina föräldrar har tillmätts stor betydelse i flera teorier om brottsutsatthet har ingen svensk- eller engelskspråkig studie undersökt sambanden mellan barns tid med sina föräldrar och barnens utsatthet för brott. Genom logistisk regression av enkätsvaren från 1 248 svenska barn mellan 10 och 18 år och  deras föräldrar undersöks två hypoteser: 1) att tiden som barn och unga har med sina föräldrar är negativt korrelerad till utsatthet för brott och 2) att detta samband kvarstår men försvagas efter kontroller för klass och ekonomisk status. Av studien framgår ett signifikant och tydligt samband mellan upplevd föräldratid och brottsutsatthet. Oddsen att utsättas för brott är lite mer än två gånger högre för barn som upplever minst tid med sina föräldrar jämfört med barn som inte upplever tidsbrist med någon av sina föräldrar. Sambandet är tydligt även efter kontroll för ålder, kön, konflikter inom familjen, familjetyp samt relativ fattigdom. Sambandet påverkas inte i någon större grad av klass, vilket kan ha att göra med att den uppmätta brottsutsattheten inkluderar stöldbrott. Resultaten tolkas utifrån livsstilsteori och routine activity theory, i linje med det som kallas L-RAT-framework samt Hirschis teori om social kontroll.

This study aims to identify tactics used by the Turkish Hezbollah to recruit college students into joining their terrorist organization. This study based on the assumptions that social networks and institutional structures are two main tools that are used effectively by the Turkish Hezbollah to recruit college educated students. In this sense, the researcher claims that Social Learning theory and Social Control Theories can be used to provide theoretical explanation to the Hezbollah’s recruitment strategy. Parallel to these theories assumptions, while having militants within social networks increases the likelihood of being recruited through social learning theory assumptions, college students who are away from their families are more likely to be recruited through social control theory assumptions. The researcher uses individual level secondary data related to members of the Turkish Hezbollah. The data comprised of self reports that each member submitted to the Turkish Hezbollah as part of their recruitment process. The data are derived from the Turkish National Police’s database. Initially, frequency table is used to determine which structure and which theory best explain the Turkish Hezbollah’s recruitment strategies. Then, to decide which demographic factors increase or decrease the likelihood of being recruited through social networks (social learning theory) or institutional structures (social control theory), logistic regression is used. Eight independent variables are used to identify those factors such as having Hezbollah militants within social networks, pursuing college education while being away from family, family’s religious ideology, having online or campus education, family size, income level, college student’s religiosity level, and reason for attending Hezbollah. The findings indicated that social networks and institutional structures are two important tools that are used by the Turkish Hezbollah. Social networks are more effectively used structures comparing to institutional structures. According to the results, there are two important variables have more weight on dependent variable comparing to other variables. While having militants within the social networks increases the likelihood of being recruited through social learning theory assumptions, being away from families during college education increases the likelihood of being recruited through social control theory assumptions.