[논문] 권력과 통제 그리고 청소년 비행 : 이론적 탐색과 비판

[ARTICLE] Criticism and Extension of Power Control Theory

This study explores theoretical framework of Hagan and his colleagues' power control theory and incorporates its theoretical perspective into a broader dimension of social structure to explain juvenile delinquency. The focus of power control theory lies in examining whether conventional gender differences are associated with gender differentials in power and control, which, in turn, can be drawn from the intersection of gender and social class. In other words, parents socially reproduce their own power relations through the control of their children, and it explains gender gap in juvenile delinquency. Based on tests of the power control theory, many studies suggest that the theory needs to be modified and reconceptualized, but I emphasize that its structural implication is applicable to study in different ways to deal with social context. Particularly, in Korean society, I discuss that the theory needs to regard various alternative criteria to define the husband-wife relation due to different social structures. Most importantly, we need to focus on women's power in terms of control over money, decision making, and the division of domestic labor, to measure the power structure in marriage. Therefore, to provide an explanation of the dynamic effect of macro-level structures on an adolescent's micro-level structure, we need to focus on meso-level family structure, which mirrors macro-level social change, and which plays a substantial role in the socialization process of children.