5 Reasons Females Turn Criminal

3 – Self-Control theory – Those who commit crime lack self-control.

This theory was originally devised by Hirschi and Gottfredson, and is considered a “general theory of crime”. This means it aims to explain all crime, and does not suggest you need gender specific explanations of criminality. The theory suggests that crime occurs when people (men or women) have a lack of self-control. Hirschi and Gottfredson suggest this lack of self-control comes about due to ineffective child rearing practises of their parents as they are growing up. People with low self-control are likely to be impulsive, insensitive and get physical quicker.

These are obvious traits that could lead to criminality. Thornton, Graham-Kevan and Archer (2013) found that criminals are often versatile, and this supports the idea that they have a lack of self-control. However, Longshore (1998) did show there are many other factors which predict criminality.