Do parents matter in creating self-control in their children? A genetically informed test of Gottfredson and Hirschi's theory, of low self-control

Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime (1990) has generated an abundance of research testing the proposition that low self-control is the main cause of crime and analogous behaviors. Less empirical work, however, has examined the factors that give rise to low self-control. Gottfredson and Hirschi suggest that parents are the sole contributors for either fostering or thwarting low self-control in their children, explicitly discounting the possibility that genetics may play a key role. Yet genetic research has shown that ADHD and other deficits in the frontostriatal system are highly heritable. Our research thus tests whether "parents matter" in creating low self-control once genetic influences are taken into account. Using a sample of twin children we find that parenting measures have a weak and inconsistent effect. We address the conceptual and methodological issues associated with the failure to address genetic influences in parenting studies.