NCJ Number
182240
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: 2000 Pages: 89-101
Editor(s)
Kent B. Joscelyn
Date Published
2000
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Recognizing that Agnew's general strain theory has been one of the more significant developments in theoretical criminology over the past decade, this study examined data collected from a sample of high school students in 1991 to assess delinquent adaptations to strain.
Abstract
The analysis focused directly on the relationships between exposure to strain, anger, and delinquent behavior. The researchers attempted to determine whether strain had direct or indirect effects, through the mediating effects of anger, on three types of delinquent outcomes--violence, drug use, and school-related deviance. Findings revealed that strain had direct (independent) effects on violence, even after controlling for other influences. Exposure to strain, however, was not independently related to illicit drug use or deviance in school. Criminogenic effects of strain on drug use were conditional on weak social bonds and exposure to deviant affiliations. Anger did not mediate the effects of strain on delinquent outcomes. For models predicting violence, criminogenic effects of anger were fond to operate through strain. The authors conclude that the findings are consistent with the view that young people who have high anger levels disproportionately experience and/or perceive strainful events that can lead to violence. Explanations of why strain and anger appear to have differential effects on varied delinquent outcomes are offered. An appendix lists the delinquency scale measures used in the study. 45 references and 5 tables