DOES SELF-CONTROL AFFECT SURVEY RESPONSE? APPLYING EXPLORATORY, CONFIRMATORY, AND ITEM RESPONSE THEORY ANALYSIS TO GRASMICK ET AL.'S SELF-CONTROL SCALE
Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) A General Theory of Crime has sparked a great deal of theoretical debate and empirical investigation. Tests of the theory have focused on measuring the core element, the latent trait of self‐control. The majority of this research has used the 24‐item scale devel...
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| Published in | Criminology (Beverly Hills) Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 897 - 930 |
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| Main Authors | , , |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
Oxford, UK
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.08.2000
Sage Publications American Society of Criminology |
| Subjects | |
| Online Access | Get full text |
| ISSN | 0011-1384 1745-9125 |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2000.tb00910.x |
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| Summary: | Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) A General Theory of Crime has sparked a great deal of theoretical debate and empirical investigation. Tests of the theory have focused on measuring the core element, the latent trait of self‐control. The majority of this research has used the 24‐item scale developed by Grasmick et al. (1993), and a great deal of attention has been directed at the validity of this scale. Empirical debate revolves around the unidimensionality of the scale as established using conventional factor analytic techniques [exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)]. In this paper, we provide the first application of an item response theory (IRT) Rasch model to the validation of the Grasmick et al. scale. IRT models focus on the interaction between the human subject and survey items, and the extent to which cumulative scales fail to provide fundamental measurement. Our results suggest that although conventional factor analyses yield results similar to those previously reported, IRT analysis reveals that one's level of self‐control influences self‐report responses, a finding consistent with Hirschi and Gottfredson. |
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| Bibliography: | ark:/67375/WNG-XG46XJP2-M We would like to thank the three reviewers for their valuable suggestions. A portion of this paper was written when the first two authors were Fellows participating in the "Violence Over the Life Course" Institute at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University in the Summer of 1998. istex:2D3C1C590EAB86EC7A34DB3C2CD1C75ADA03C559 ArticleID:CRIM897 We would like to thank the three reviewers for their valuable suggestions. A portion of this paper was written when the first two authors were Fellows participating in the “Violence Over the Life Course” Institute at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University in the Summer of 1998. Randall MacIntosh is Assistant Professor of Sociology at California State University, Sacramento. His research interests include measurement and methodology and class/race/gender issues. Matthew Hickman is a doctoral student in the Department of Criminal Justice at Temple University. His current research interests include criminological theory, policing, and quantitative methods. a.piquero@nunet.neu.edu Alex R. Piquero is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University, Member of the National Consortium on Violence Research, and Network Associate with the MacArthur Foundation's Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice. His research interests include criminological theory, crime over the life course, quantitative research methods, and policing. Address correspondence to Alex Piquero, Northeastern University, College of Criminal Justice, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115. Phone: (617) 373–3327. E‐mail ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 14 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 0011-1384 1745-9125 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2000.tb00910.x |