ABSTRACT
Despite earning the status as a criminological classic, Hirschi’s (1969) Causes of Delinquency has been limited in fostering major theoretical advances either within Hirschi’s control paradigm or in systematic integration with alternative perspectives. By contrast, this chapter argues that Causes of Delinquency—even at age 50—offers potentially rich opportunities for theoretical inquiry. In particular, each of the four social bonds identified by Hirschi could be developed theoretically. As an illustration, the chapter proposes a new theory of commitment and delinquency. Drawing on scholarship on the psychology of organizational commitment, four elements or types of commitment are distinguished: calculated, attitudinal, behavioral, and identity. A simplified causal model, consistent with Hirschi’s criminology, is then presented. This theory of commitment is intended to be of value both in and of itself and as a way of exemplifying how future theoretical development of Hirschi’s social control theory might proceed.
