ABSTRACT
Hirschi’s social control theory, with its emphasis on social controls and social bonds, is well suited for analyses of gender differences in delinquency. Prior explanations of the gender gap in crime have examined differences in internal and external control by gender. Authors suggest that boys and girls are either differentially exposed to internal and external controls, or that processes from internal and external controls to delinquency differ by gender. These assumptions are at the heart of the debate surrounding gender-specific and gender-neutral criminological theories. Using data from the 1979 wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we investigate the extent to which gender differences in delinquency are explained by different levels of internal and external controls, gender-specific causal processes, or a combination of both levels and processes. We conclude that gender differences in offending are best explained by girls’ higher levels of internal and external controls rather than by gendered causal processes or pathways to offending.
