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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate—via direct comparison—the fundamental supposition that the general theory of crime should be valid for both criminal and analogous behavior in both an offender and a general population sample. The core constructs of the theory, namely the influence of parenting style on self-control and the relationship with different manifestations of deviance, were analyzed by comparing a sample of incarcerated sexual and violent offenders with a general population sample. The validity of the general theory could only be confirmed for the offender population.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. Chris Murphy for his editorial assistance and Dr. Volker Grundies for his comments and suggestions.
Notes
1 In the norming sample internal consistency ranged between α = .72 and α = .89 and can be thus considered as good (Schumacher et al. Citation2000:81). The nature of this study required a retrospective assessment of parental rearing behavior. Even though it does not mirror the actual parental behavior this is not essential with regard to what a person has experienced. The recalled subjective representations are exactly what exerts its psychological influence, thus small biases with regard to a possible “real” parenting behavior can be tolerated.
2 Since Gottfredson and Hirschi (Citation1990) do not specify which extent of substance use is to be classified as deviant behavior we chose a conservative approach. Daily substance use has been reported to be associated with DSM-IV symptoms (Palepu et al. Citation2013) and for ease of data collection and recollection by the subjects this simplified approach was chosen.
3 We limited data collection of the general population sample to absolutely necessary core information for the comparisons and analyses in order to increase the willingness to participate in the study.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Cornelia Siegfried
CORNELIA SIEGFRIED is a Psychologist at the correctional facility Freiburg i. Br., Germany. From 2012 until 2014 she worked as Research Assistant at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg i.Br., Germany, in a research project on sexual offender treatment. Her research interests are criminological theories, offender personality, incarceration, and preventive detention.
Gunda Woessner
GUNDA WOESSNER is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Applied Police Science Baden-Wuerttemberg in Villingen-Schwenningen. From 2006 until 2014 she was a Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg i.Br., Germany, where she headed research projects on sexual offender treatment, restorative justice in cases of sexual violence, and electronic monitoring. Her areas of specialization are in sexual and violent offenders, incarceration and rehabilitation research, electronic monitoring, and juvenile delinquency.