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Cited by 293

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 3 of the 3 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The Current State of Differential Association Theory

Matsueda, Ross L.·1988·Crime & Delinquency

Abstract

With his theory of differential association, Sutherland attempted to identify universal mechanisms that explain the genesis of crime regardless of the specific concrete structural, social, and individual conditions involved. In this article, I discuss the development of the theory and then assess its strengths and weaknesses. After finding Kornhauser's (1978) influential critique of differential association theory to be oversimplified and misguided, I review recent empirical tests. I argue that the theory appears supported, but requires additional research to specify the concrete content of its abstract principles. Such respecification will improve the theory's predictions, empirical tests, and implications for public policy. I conclude by proposing several avenues for theoretical and empirical research.

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Metadata

Authors
Matsueda, R. L.
Venue
Crime & Delinquency
Published
1988-07
Volume
34
Issue
3
Pages
277-306
ISSN
  • 0011-1287 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-387X
OpenAlex
W2166240721
Cited by
293
References
3
FWCI
7.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The Current State of Differential Association Theory. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1177/0011128788034003005
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Matsueda, R. L. (1988). The Current State of Differential Association Theory. Crime & Delinquency. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128788034003005

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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.