Colvin, Mark, Francis T. Cullen, and Thomas Vander Ven: Coercion, Social Support, and Crime

Hasan Büker & Osman Dolu

Mark Colvin, Francis T. Cullen, and Thomas Vander Ven developed their differential coercion and social support theory (DCSST) of crime based on two emerging themes in criminology: coercion and social support . According to this perspective, “with some important exceptions, coercion causes crime whereas social support prevents crime” (Colvin et al., 2002, p. 19). DCSST proposes that involvement in criminal behavior is shaped by the sources, types, strengths, and duration of social support and coercion to which individuals are exposed. In the following sections, the conceptual framework, the empirical status, and the policy implications derived from this theory are discussed. Because the premises of the DCSST rely heavily on the relationship between coercion and social support, the theory initially examines what these terms refer to in criminological theory. In several theories of criminology, coercion has been examined as a source of criminal behavior. Coercive disciplining and coercive interpersonal relations in ...

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