"Travis Hirschi's Causes of Delinquency is not merely a turning point in deviance research. It is a book about adolescents, about Americans, a book, dare I say it, about America. It should be read then reread by those who, as they say, care about our people, and especially those whose private worlds of genuine concern often seem to by-pass an implacable reality."

--Thomas J. Cottle, Harvard Educational Review

"The hallmark of the study is its systematic focus on important theoretical issues, using the most advanced survey methods and analytical techniques. The consistency of finds is remarkable. The presentation is lively, unencumbered by obscure language or logic, brilliantly argued. It is a work of major consequence."

--James F. Short, Jr., Washington State University

"This is a highly significant piece of research which provides a serious challenge to the popular wisdom in criminology regarding delinquency."

--The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science

Publisher Web Site, January, 2004

In Causes of Delinquency, Hirschi attempts to state and test a theory of delinquency, seeing in the delinquent a person relatively free of the intimate attachments, the aspirations, and the moral beliefs that bind most people to a life within the law. In prominent alternative theories, the delinquent appears either as a frustrated striver forced into delinquency by his acceptance of the goals common to us all, or as an innocent foreigner attempting to obey the rules of a society that is not in position to make the law or define conduct as good or evil. Hirschi analyzes a large body of data on delinquency collected in Western Contra Costa County, California, contrasting throughout the assumptions of the strain, control, and cultural deviance theories. He outlines the assumptions of these theories and discusses the logical and empirical difficulties attributed to each of them. Then draws from sources an outline of social control theory, the theory that informs the subsequent analysis and which is advocated here.

Often listed as a "Citation Classic," Causes of Delinquency retains its force and cogency with age. It is an important volume and a necessary addition to the libraries of sociologists, criminologists, scholars and students in the area of delinquency.