Personality, Gender, and Self-control Theory Revisited: Results from a Sample of Institutionalized Juvenile Delinquents

Two empirically unresolved areas of study of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) self-control theory are personality and gender. The theory states that personality is unrelated to self-control and crime, and prior studies have found that self-control operates differently for males and females. Using data from confi ned delinquents in the California Youth Authority (n = 791) and measures derived from the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory which is a superordinate measure of personality, the current study explored the linkages between self-control and institutional misconduct. MANOVA and negative binomial regression models showed that wards with lower self-control/self-restraint had greater levels of diverse institutional misconduct. However, self-control was predictive of misconduct in only three of ten multivariate models and only among males. Self-control was unrelated to institutional misconduct among females. Implications for theory and research on the general theory are provided.