Nye's Social Control Theory

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

As a mother or father, you may find that your child starts to use violence or abuse to intimidate and control you or his peers and you may find it difficult to accept how violent your child is becoming. These may not be typical to your child (adolescent) alone as the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 2012 has asserted that there is a great concern about the incidence of violent behavior and adolescent’s world wide

These complex and troubling issue needs to be carefully understood not only to the parents but teachers, other adults and the general public. Violent behavior in a child at any age always needs to be taken seriously as these may portray danger for any society

Previous literature has suggested that parents that exhibit high Demandingness or control have children and adolescents with better outcomes (Baumrind 1965; 1966; 1971, 1991; 2005; Steinberg et al., 1994). Based on this theory, higher parental control should relate to lower violent activity.

1.6.3 Nye’s Social Control Theory

Nye (1958) discussed various familial factors that can influence violence, including parental control and the parent - adolescent relationship. He proposed that moderate levels of parental control (e.g. supervision, monitoring, punishment, etc.) are related to less violent activity. Too much or too little parental control should be associated with higher violent behavior.

Nye also suggested that the quality of the parent -adolescent relationship has some influence on the association between parental control and violent behavior.

This suggests that parental control relates to lower violent behavior for adolescents with a better relationship with their parents.

Other scholars have used this theory when examining parent -adolescent relationship as a moderator for the mentioned association (Seydlitz, 1993).

1.6.4 Life Course

Erik Erikson 's theory of psychosocial development is one of the best-known theories of personality in psychology. Much like Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages. Unlike Freud 's theory of psychosexual stages, Erikson 's theory describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan.

One of the main elements of Erikson 's psychosocial stage theory is the development of ego identity. Ego identity is the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction. According to Erikson, our ego identity is constantly changing due to new experiences and information we acquire in our daily interactions with others.

When psychologists talk about identity, they are referring to all of the beliefs, ideals, and values that help shape and guide a person 's behavior. The formation of identity is something that begins in childhood and becomes particularly important during adolescence, but it is a process that continues throughout life. Our personal identity gives each of us an integrated and cohesive sense of self that endures and continues to grow