Social structural theories attempt to explain why people commit crimes as related to the social structure of society. They are macro theories that address the broader questions about differences across societies or among major groups in a society. Social structural theories involve factors that can affect the individual but are beyond the control of the individual to change. They attempt to relate the extent of the crime and why they commit the crime to the …showed first 75 words of 1491 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1491 total…Violent Youth: Theory and Interventions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Hirschi, Travis. 1969. Causes of Delinquency. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Hirschi, Travis and Michael J. Gottfredson. 1993. Commentary: Testing a General Theory of Crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 30:47-54. Shoemaker, D. J. 1990. Theories of delinquency: An examination of delinquent behavior (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. White, Harrison C. 1992. Identity and Control: A Structural Theory of Social Action. Princeton: Princeton University Press.