Beyond parenting: An examination of the etiology of self-control

prior research testing Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) theory of low self-control had demonstrated a relationship between parenting and self-control, it had also recognized significant effects of other factors, suggesting the etiology of self-control may be more complex than the theory specifies. In an to better understand this process, the current study examined first whether social factors other than predicted self-control using both contemporaneous and lagged effects models, and second, the effect of parenting on self-control varied according to these social factors. Findings offered support for self-control theory. In implicit support of the theory, this study found that the effect of on self-control was not conditioned by the competing social factors examined. Contrary to the however, was the finding that self-control was predicted by both peer pressure and school social contemporaneously, even after controlling for parental monitoring. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.