the general theory of crime: how general is it? Shayne Jones University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Neil Quisenberry McKendree College, Lebanon, Illinois, USA Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of crime is one of the most widely cited in the deviance literature (Wright 2000), and has been used to predict several analogous (i.e., deviant) behaviors. However, there remain questions that have not been adequately addressed in previous research. First, there are deviant behaviors that might be explained by the general theory that have not yet been explored. Second, previous research has not shown the extent to which self-control can explain specific forms of deviance as opposed to deviant behavior in general. Finally, extant self- control literature has placed an emphasis on establishing a link between self-control and negative outcomes. However, self-control has not been used to explain socially acceptable forms of risky behavior. In this study we attempt to address these limitations by determining if self-control affects analogous behaviors such as risky driving, risky sex, academic dishonesty, and pathological gambling. To ascertain if self-control affects Received 14 July 2003; accepted 7 January 2004. A previous version of this paper was presented at the 2002 American Society of Criminology Meeting, Chicago, IL, November 12À16. Address correspondence to Shayne Jones, Law and Psychiatry Research Program, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. E-mail: jones@seupmc.edu Deviant Behavior, 25: 401À426, 2004 Copyright # Taylor & Francis Inc. ISSN: 0163-9625 print/1521-0456 online DOI: 10.1080=01639620490467508 401