Sonia Rosales, M.A.

She/her

Education: Bachelor of Science in sociology (criminology) (May 2005)

Master of Arts in sociology from the University of Oklahoma

McNair Project: The Effects of the Attachment, Involvement, and Belief Bonds from the Social Control Theory on Delinquency in College Students (2004)

Mentor: Roy Barnett, Ph.D.

Travis Hirschi's social control theory says that delinquency stems from a lack of conformity through four basic bonds: attachment, involvement, beliefs, and commitment. Generally, social control research is done on juveniles. However, the present research was done using a data set from the University of Oklahoma on college students, ages 18 to 25, testing the effects of the attachment, involvement, and belief bonds. Independent variables were chosen to represent each of the groups of bonds and to test for a significant relationship with the dependent variable, "Steal$20". First, a correlation matrix was done using the independent, dependent, and control variables. Next, a regression analysis was done on "Steal$20" examining the strength of the effect the independent and control variables had on the dependent variable. Results show that at least one variable from each of the groups of bonds had a significant affect on the dependent variable. The only control variable to have a significant affect on "Steal$20" was "Female". General findings from this research show support for the bonds of attachment, involvement, and belief in Hirschi's social control theory.