Impact of Hirschi's social bonding theory on youth crime

Abstract

In 1969, Travis Hirschi set out to explain why individuals do not commit crime. Unlike previous criminologists, he emphasized why individuals conform, rather than deviate. In his theory, involvement in law breaking acts is determined by the presence, absence, or strength of four bonds, i.e. attachment, commitment, involvement and belief. To consolidate his propositions, he published the book called “Causes of Delinquency”. We set out to test Hirschi’s Social Bonding Theory in our research study of juvenile delinquents in Hong Kong. We interviewed a total of ten youngsters who had law-breaking experience. Our main findings suggest that Hirschi’s Social Bonding Theory has some relevance to the local context in explaining why young people with weaker bonds commit crimes and why their subsequent development of stronger bonds helped them become law abiding citizens. However, we also identified a number of other specific characteristics that helped shape young people’s behaviour, including the family and social structures in post-colonial Hong Kong. Our study therefore highlights the importance of contextualizing Hirschi’s theory in terms of the structural and cultural conditions and everyday experiences of male and female juveniles in Hong Kong.