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Low Self-Control Theory and its Explanations for Racial Incarceration Disparities

Hannah Nadeau SOC 3420

Nadeau 1

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous, I Have a Dream speech. As he neared the end of his speech, he proclaimed, I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. These words voiced the feelings of generations of African Americans whoafter having been viewed as inferior by their fellow human beings throughout most of American historydesired nothing more than to be treated with the dignity and equality they deserved. For centuries, black Americans were treated unfairly by the criminal justice system the system that is intended to provide public protection from criminals and properly administer punishment for the criminal actions. To this day, black incarceration rates substantially outweigh incarceration rates of whites. However, these disparities are no longer caused by bias, racism, or other unfair treatment by law enforcement and administration. Although racism may be a lingering problem in America, it is no longer widely tolerated by the general public or administrative agencies and it becomes challenging to claim that disproportionate incarceration rates are still influenced by racist administration and enforcement. Instead, while it is important to recognize the role previous racist polices and attitudes had on incarceration rates, we must now focus on what is causing the incarceration balance to continue: differential involvement. As seen in Bruce Westerns book, minorities and the lower class clearly have higher incarceration rates. In 2000, one in nine young black men were incarcerated, and young African Americans who had dropped out of high school were incarcerated at a rate nearly fifty times the national average. Regardless of what may have caused incarceration disparities in the past, it seems that the current reason for the disproportion is that minorities and the lower class

(specifically blacks) simply commit higher rates of crime. These conditions can successfully be explained through Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschis Self-Control Theory. Self-control theory emphasizes the role of ineffective parenting in causing criminal or criminally analogous behavior due to low self-control. Effective parenting involves caring about the child, supervision of the childs behavior, and the recognition and discipline of problematic behavior. Once a breakdown occurs in the disciplinary process, effective parenting does not exist and children are unlikely to resist the temptations of deviant or criminal behavior. Children will then participate in these behaviors in order to fulfill their desire for short-term gratification. Those with low self-control are more likely to be ineffective parents themselves and their traits will be passed on to their own children. In order for effective parenting to occur, there must be an organized family structure. Unfortunately, in addition to economic deprivation, cultural disorganization, and social isolation, many black families are inundated with family disruption, resulting in a substantial number of female-headed households. Many incarcerated black males are fathers, but are unable to be involved in their childrens lives for obvious reasons. This negatively impacts the ability for the family to apply the principles of effective parenting. Western states (2006:109), Without much adult supervision for teenage males, poor neighborhoods are acutely exposed to the risks of crime and delinquency. It is only logical to assume that even at younger ages, those same males are continuously faced with limited adult supervision. Gottfredson and Hirschi also describe how their theory directly applies to racial disparities by pointing out that there are differences in childrearing practices among racial groups. Thus, black incarceration disparities are compounded by two factors: 1) family disorganization and 2) the manner of child-rearing in black communities.

These unfortunate statistics indicate a continuous negative feedback loop. Although current incarceration rates today are caused by differential involvement, racial stigma may have played a role in the pre-civil rights movement incarceration of blacks (prior to the 1960s), and large numbers of black prisoners who may have been unfairly incarcerated would have had children who grew up with little parental involvement. Based on the theory of low self-control, that generation will then have low self-control, will be more likely to offend and become incarcerated than their white counterparts who had parental involvement, and will therefore be unable to effectively parent their own children. This results in an endless cycle of undisciplined youths who eventually become another statistic in the criminal justice system and are unable to participate in the effective parenting of the next generation. Again, ineffective parenting may already exist in black communities according to Gottfredson and Herschi, and family disorganization only exacerbates the resulting criminality. Self-control theory also explains the likelihood that black high school dropouts are more likely to offend. The theory explains that children who have low self-control are also unlikely to succeed academically. Therefore, academic failure also does not cause or influence criminal behavior, it is simply another aspect of low self-control. Black youths who drop out of high school are more likely to offend entirely due to their lack of self-control, not because of their lack of education. Self-control is a characteristic that remains relatively stable across the lifecourse. Therefore, the poor behavior in childhood and the high school dropout rates of youth are indicative of low self-control that will be manifested in criminal action and incarceration in adulthood. Essentially, because they do not exhibit self-control, black youths are likely to both drop out of school and commit other criminally analogous behavior.

Furthermore, families who lack paternal involvement are more likely to live in poor neighborhoods, but poverty does not directly influence criminal or criminally analogous behavior. Instead, poverty is another factor directly influenced by the cycle of ineffective parenting and low self-control. Poverty is a symptom of low self-control, but it is not the causal factor of crime. The lack of participation in adult turning points can also be explained by self-control theory. Those with low self-control are likely to fail in a variety of social contexts and are unlikely to successfully participate in adult turning points such as school, work and marriage. Even if an ex-felon is no longer engaging in specific criminal activity, they will continue to participate in criminally analogous behavior, causing them to be unsuitable for long-term employment. Gottfredson and Hirschi explain, (1990:90), People who lack self-control will tend to be impulsive, insensitive, physical (as opposed to mental), risk-taking, shortsighted, and nonverbal. These characteristics obviously are not likely to benefit those in search of a job or aid the potential for long-term employment, regardless of any prior criminal convictions. Clearly, blacks will be more likely to be faced with joblessness, due to the higher rate of low self-control caused by ineffective parenting, as explained previously. The likelihood of marriage is also threatened by a lack of self-control. Although one may think that having a wife, and possibly even children, would cause a criminal to change their ways, Gottfredson and Hirschi believe that because criminals lack self-control and are entirely self-interested, they will only be involved in family life as long as they are directly benefited. The authors state (1990:140), They [marriage and family] sound nice, and they are almost by

definition inconsistent with crime, but they too may be abandoned if they prove inconvenient or overly restrictive. Therefore, it seems plausible that because criminals lack self-control, employers will be less likely to hire them, women will be less likely to marry them, and the general public will be less likely to trust them. Not only will they cease long-term employment once gratification ends (if they were employed in the first place), they will not have characteristics suitable to maintaining the position or taking care of their family, even if they desired to. Again, this forces the cycle of ineffective parenting and low self-control to continue and in black communities already faced with unsuccessful parenting techniques, black incarceration rates are intensified. Additionally, although low self-control explains the reasons for continuing crime and criminally analogous behavior, there may be compounding factors causing an inability to be restrained by adult turning points. Self-control theory does not necessarily rule out future social stigmatization and although social stigmatization does not explain crime and related behaviors within the theory, it can help prevent ex-felons from successfully gaining employment or starting a family. However, as stated previously, even if they were able to successfully receive long-term employment or start a family, their lack of self-control would prevent them from maintaining those connections. The reasons for disproportionate incarceration rates clearly have nothing to do with an inherent, biological criminality among blacks. Neither are disparities caused by racist or biased policies or enforcement. Instead, an unfortunate combination of extreme family disorganization and cultural practices cause ineffective parenting in a higher rate in the black community, resulting in a lamentable cycle of criminality, caused by a generation-to-generation lack of self-

control. This low self-control also prevents adult turning points such as employment and family and may result increased stigmatization from the community towards former convicts. Any policies to address these unfortunate trends must somehow acknowledge the flaws of the family system within black culture, yet maintain enforcement policies of incapacitation and deterrence. Such attempts at policy reformation will be challenging, but are necessary if America is to continue on the path to social and racial equality.

REFERENCES Western, Bruce. 2006. Punishment and Inequality in America. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation Gottfredson, Michael R. and Travis Hirschi. 1990. A General Theory of Crime. Stanford, CA: California University Press