ABSTRACT
The basic thesis of the Mark Colvin/John Pauly theory is that serious patterned delinquency is the ultimate product of the social relations engendered by particular positions within advanced capitalist production. The Colvin/Pauly model states that parental control methods influence the quality of the bond between parent and child. This chapter offers a logical and empirical critique of the Colvin/Pauly theory. It contends that it is almost certainly incorrect in its basic assumptions and its consequent predictions, and that it incorporates a number of logical and practical difficulties that make it scientifically untenable. The chapter discusses that theoretical integration movement is useful—indeed, essential—for scientific development in field of criminology. It also discusses that efforts to build synthetic theory will profit from careful attention to the problems that Colvin and Pauly encountered. The chapter explores the employer records to determine what happened in the past when an employee of the type in question began to do poorly on the job.
