ABSTRACT
A General Theory of Crime proposed by Gottfredson and Hirschi identifies low self control as a critical condition for individual choices associated with delinquency. The disposition towards low self control arises from failures in supervision, discipline, and informal control in the family during the child’s first eight years of life. This approach to control theory is complemented by the life cycle theory explored by Sampson and Laub, particularly in their stress on the process of informal social control and the structures of social capital, as these contribute to desistance among life long offenders. Hagan’s power-control theory tackles the significant contribution to crime of gender socialization and the division of labour in 322 child supervision. The revised control perspective still suffers from significant anomalies which cannot be explained within a classical framework. It is suggested that an examination of distal explanations of violence derived by Daly and Wilson from an evolutionary view provides clues to these anomalies. This essay outlines the relative strengths of these approaches and suggests the foundations for an integrated theoretical synthesis.
