Today, with the increasing use of technology, people have the freedom to create their own social convoys, both online and offline. These may include peers, professionals, family, mentors and other significant people in one’s life. While the social development may appear as a long process that lasts into our teenage lives, our childhood experiences of creating social bonds with our significant others are a lot more critical than we ever thought. In fact, numerous studies have pointed out that our social bonding experiences in our early lives often carries a significant impact in our subsequent future relationships. Brown and Jennings (2014) reinforce that without positive and strong relationships; both bodies and minds can tear apart, hence resulting into undesired behaviors. In his social bond theory, Brown and Jennings (2014) state that Travis Hirchi outlines key elements of social bond that are essential in building great relationships. They include; attachment to significant others, commitment to a set of social norms and existing institutions, active participation in social activities and the belief that these aspects are indeed essential. According to Hirschi, when these social bonds are weakened, then undesired behaviors are more likely to occur ( Brown & Jennings, 2014) . For instance, if one has strong bonds with peers, family or mentors that are deviant in any way, then this may motivate one into indulging into similar deviant behaviors. According to Hardwick and Brannigan (2008), t his kind of attachment may also facilitate antisocial behaviors that may later lead to delinquency. Brown and Jennings (2014) further point out that studies carried out by university of Massachusetts estimate that more than 20 percent of the homeless population in America experience substance abuse problem. During the qualitative study, it was noted that participants with deviant behaviors had non-normative attachment bond with their families, peers or institutions that had little or no commitment to conventional norms or objectives ( Ray et al., 2015) . Further studies have also shown that greater autonomy, with little parent supervision, and consequently increased negative peer pressure leads to increased delinquency among youths ( Ray et al., 2015) . Furthermore, children from single-parent homes with poor social attachments have been linked to increased delinquency. Along these lines, it is evident that strong relationships with our significant others have a profound impact on the subsequent behaviors of any person. Consequently, presence of a criminal parent/caregiver/friend is more likely to influence one into becoming a criminal in later life.
References
Brown, W., & Jennings, W. G. (2014). A Replication and an Honor-Based Extension of Hirschi's Reconceptualization of Self-Control Theory and Crime and Analogous Behaviors. Deviant Behavior, 35, 4, 297-310.
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Hardwick, K. H., & Brannigan, A. (2008). Self-Control, Child Effects, and Informal Social Control: A Direct Test of the Primacy of Sociogenic Factors<sup>1</sup>. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice/la Revue Canadienne De Criminologie Et De Justice Pénale, 50, 1, 1-30.
Ray, P., Ronet, B., Shawn, B., Erin, K., & Daniel, O. C. (2015). Human Agency and Explanations of Criminal Desistance: Arguments for a Rational Choice Theory. Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology, 1, 3, 209-235.
