ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with the idea that family structure has a small and variable effect on crime, an effect that is easily accounted for by measures of family functioning or process. It suggests that the connection is causal, that any loss of the instructive, protective, or supportive power of the family eventually show itself in higher rates of deviant behavior. Versatility suggests that heinous crimes, trivial peccadillos, and indeed the ordinary self-indulgences of everyday life have the same functions for the individual or are produced by the same causes. The concept of self control captures the relatively stable tendency to engage in a wide range of criminal, deviant, or reckless acts better than such traditional concepts as criminality, aggression, or conscience. It is easy to find reasons to believe that large families may experience greater difficulties than small families in teaching self-control.
