Life Strain, Coping, and Delinquency in the People's Republic of China: An Empirical Test of General Strain Theory From a Matching Perspective in Social Support

• NCJ Number: 217256
• Journal: International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 51 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2007 Pages: 9-24
• Author(s): Wan-Ning Bao; Ain Haas; Yijun Pi
• Date Published: February 2007
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined whether the availability of social and personal coping resources among a sample of 615 Chinese adolescents could mitigate the impact of strain on delinquency, which is a central feature of Agnew’s general strain theory (GST).

Abstract

The results support the hypotheses posited by GST: social supports in the areas of family, school, and peers had buffering effects on the relationships between juvenile delinquency and interpersonal problems. Moral beliefs were found to have buffering effects for negative impacts in all three domains--family, school, and peers. Several gender differences emerged: girls were more likely to seek social support from outside the family and the social support they received was more likely to buffer the impact of strain on delinquency. Boys, on the other hand, were more likely to respond to negative peer, family, and school strain with delinquency, particularly if they had delinquent peers. The findings suggest that delinquency intervention programs could be more effective if they target the specific coping resources that are linked with the specific types of strain in youths’ lives. Data were collected from 615 students attending 8th to 11th grades in public schools in 3 locations in China. The locations were chosen to represent a wide range of trends in economic development and social change. Students completed a self-report survey measuring: (1) exposure to negative relationships with teachers, parents, and peers; (2) social support from peers, teachers, and parents; (3) exposure to delinquent peers; (4) moral beliefs; (5) personal coping resources; and (6) delinquent behavior. Data were analyzed using a series of ordinary least squares hierarchical multiple regression models. Future research should employ a longitudinal research design to better understand the relationship between interpersonal strain and delinquency, particularly among youth in China. Tables, references