Hirschi assumes in his social bonds theory that humans have a natural tendency to delinquency. The interesting question for him is what prevents people from violating norms. According to Hirschi, conformity is generated by social control. Hirschi distinguishes four different forms of social bonds and their influence on social control:
1969
Social disorganization theory (Shaw & McKay)
Social disorganization theory assumes that crime rates are constant in areas with certain environmental conditions, such as high unemployment, population fluctuation or material decay. Such conditions prevent social organization and cohesion in the neighbourhood and thus informal social control of delinquency. Once crime is widespread, criminal norms and values that