Structure and control: Reconsidering Hirschi's concept of commitment
- 1 September 1987
- journal article
- article on-theory
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Justice Quarterly
- Vol. 4 (3) , 409-424
- https://doi.org/10.1080/07418828700089421
Abstract
Hirschi's concept of commitment confuses the definition and the explanation of conformity, as part of a more general confusion between conformity and legality. The result is tautology—an explanation that merely restates a definition. Commitment is properly conceived as an antecedent variable that measures the role of social structure in the origin of delinquency. As such, it explains legal actions but not conforming actions.Keywords
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