In a life course theoretical framework the mechanisms leading to inequality are differentiated into

cumulative disadvantage and cumulative advantage (Ferraro, Shippee, & Schafer, 2009). This study

focuses on the mechanisms accounting for a selection into criminogenic contexts addressed as cumulative

disadvantage processes in the age graded theory of informal social control by Sampson and Laub (1993).

Therefore it is examined weather the social bonds (to family, peers, and school) mediate the influence of

propensity (low self-control) on delinquent behavior. The data analyzed comes from the first two waves

of a German youth study from the project A2 called "chances and risks in the life course". In total 871

juveniles completed an anonymous self-report survey in the cities Dortmund and Nuremberg. The results

of the structural equation model show at least moderate support for the theoretical assumptions.