SOCIAL BONDING THEORY

Travis Hirschi presented a social bonding theory in 1969. The main idea of the social bonding theory is that each and every individual has a drive to act in selfish and even aggressive ways that might possibly lead to criminal behavior. Social bonding theory is somewhat have similarities with the Durkheim theory that “we are all animals, and thus naturally capable of committing criminal acts” (Tibbetts, 2012, p. 162). However, the stronger a person is bonded to the conventional society, for example, family, schools, communities, the less prone a person is to be involved in criminal activity. The great example of this would be the serial killer Nannie Doss. Since early age she did not have any bonds either to her family with an abusive father or to community she lived in. Most of the time during her childhood she was isolated from any social interactions with her schoolmates or friends.
Hirschi’s social bond consists of four elements:
1. Attachment
2. Commitment
3. Involvement
4. Moral belief
Attachment is a key element in the social bond, which consists of “affectionate bonds between an individual and his/her significant others” (Tibbetts, 2012, p. 163). For Hirschi, parents and schools are very important and critical elements of attachment. Those who form close attachments to their parents and schools usually experience greater levels of social control. For example, Nannie Doss did not have any attachments especially with her parents. Hirschi says, “the stronger the early attachments are, the probability of acting inappropriately decreases” (Tibbetts, 2012, p.163). Also, Nannie Doss did not have any social interactions with her friends or peers because her father did not allow her to attend school and have friends. Therefore, Na...

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...r a person with strong values and good moral beliefs, the idea to get married and poison your husband just to get money from the insurance would seem insane. But there are different types of personalities, and, for such individuals as Nannie Doss, it might seem absolutely acceptable to act in such ways. She had “head trauma at the age of seven” (Montaldo, 2013, p. 1A), so she might have seen things differently than others. For those who share the belief that to kill a person in order to make money is wrong are less likely to murder someone.
Hirschi’s social bonds represent mechanisms of informal social control. So, it is extremely important to create conditions for healthy attachments since the early childhood. The stronger the commitments are to the families, schools, or conventional society, less likely people would get involved in criminal or deviant behavior.