ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the enterprise of contemporary criminological theory from 1970 to the present. It aims to locate the flow of ideas over time and determine what has been added to our understanding of crime and criminals. Social control theory as advanced by Travis Hirschi was to become the most popular criminological perspective by mid-decade. The blend of differential association with psychologically-based operant and social learning theories gave new life to Chicago School concepts. Instead of focusing on changes in the personal roles of women in society or on the consideration of behaviors as either feminine or masculine, her perspective simply looks at the opportunities women have available to participate in crime. Lifestyles are influenced by three basic elements: social roles played by people in society, position in the social structure, and rational decisions about which behaviors are desirable.
