Testing the General Theory of Crime with the Circumplex Model: Curvilinear Relations between Family Functioning and Self-Control

ABSTRACT

The relation between family and low self-control is usually studied within linear hypotheses. In this study, we intended to test the familial origin of self-control under a curvilinear hypothesis. This is a cross-sectional study, with a sample of 448 adolescents and young adults. Data analysis was based on correlation and regression-based statistics. Results revealed linear associations between family functioning and juvenile deviant behavior, contrary to self-control which presented curvilinear relations with family cohesion and flexibility (i.e. both high and low extreme levels were associated with low self-control). This finding suggests a new approach to the familial origin of low self-control.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Elisabete Monteiro, MSc in clinical psychology, for her participation in the data collection process and to all the participants.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT- UID/CED/04853/2016).The first author was supported by a doctoral grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT - SFRH/BD/122919/2016).

Notes on contributors

Hugo S. Gomes

Hugo S. Gomes is a Fulbright Scholar and a PhD Candidate, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT – grant SFRH/BD/122919/2016), in the School of Psychology, University of Minho, and a PhD visiting student at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge. He is a Portuguese psychologist with a master’s degree in Criminal Psychology (with an Exceptional Academic Achievement award). His research interests are in juvenile delinquency; validity of self-reports of offending; developmental and life-course criminology; and experimental criminology.

Maria Gouveia-Pereira

Maria Gouveia-Pereira is a psychologist with a Ph.D. in Psychology. She is a professor in University of Lisbon (ISPA-IU), Portugal, and a clinical therapist (individual and family). Her main topic of interest is juvenile delinquency, especially concerning the causes of offending (e.g., family and individual characteristics), self-harm behaviors, and suicide in adolescence.