Strain and Juvenile Delinquency: A Critical Review of Agnew's General Strain Theory

The Nexus of Violent Victimization, Mental Health, and Employment: Findings From a Sample of Post-Incarcerated Individuals

The goals of this study were to assess the prevalence of victimization among people who are transitioning from prison to the community, and to examine the nexus of violent victimization during reentry, mental health, and weekly work hours. The participants (n = 724; average age = 29.09 years) were interviewed before release, and in the 3rd, 9th, and 15th months into reentry. Longitudinal data about their mental health, work hours, family environment, and victimization were collected. We drew on Agnew's general strain theory and employed multilevel longitudinal modeling to examine how victimization affected respondents' work hours via mental health. Findings revealed that greater exposure to violent victimization deteriorated mental health among respondents. Furthermore, an indirect effect between victimization and reduced work capacity operating through poor mental health was observed at the between-person level. These results underscored the alarmingly high prevalence of victimization among reentering individuals and that maintaining stable employment, a critical step of reintegration after imprisonment, is difficult for reentering individuals when they become a victim of violence and suffer mental health deterioration. Implications for addressing victimization among people transitioning out of prison are discussed.

Male Sexual Victimization: Examining Variation in the Probability of Weapon Use and Victim Injury

The sexual victimization of adult males remains an understudied subject within criminology. Prior research has generally been restricted to descriptive analysis of small clinical samples and inmate populations. Using general strain theory (GST), this study examines the simultaneous influence of community- and incident-level factors on the likelihood of weapon use and victim injury in cases of adult male sexual victimization. This study applies hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) to 2,155 cases of sexual victimization of adult males nested within 113 U.S. cities. Community-level data are procured from the 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year summary file and incident-level data are taken from cases of sexual violence contained in the 2011-2015 National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Findings demonstrate moderate support for GST as a framework through which to examine male sexual victimization, as community levels of disadvantage/violence and ethnic heterogeneity, as well as offender gender, race, intoxication, and weapon use each exhibit statistically significant relations with crime severity. This study finds that community and situational context are each important in predicting weapon use and victim injury, demonstrating the need to further explore male sexual victimization from a multilevel perspective.

Perceived Police Injustice, Moral Disengagement, and Aggression Among Juvenile Offenders: Utilizing the General Strain Theory Model

Although many juvenile offenders report experiencing police injustice, few studies have examined how this source of strain may impact youths' behavioral outcomes, including risk for future recidivism. This study begins to address that gap in the literature. We applied the general strain theory as our theoretical framework to examine the interactive effect of perceived police injustice and moral disengagement on juvenile aggressive behavior. Our sample included 95 juvenile offenders who completed questionnaires on measures of perceived police injustice and moral disengagement. Results supported our hypothesis, such that moral disengagement predicted past month aggression among juvenile offenders, but only by youth who reported mean and high levels of perceived police injustice. While more research is needed in this area, this study's findings underscore the need to address both perceived police engagement and moral disengagement among youth at-risk of engaging in delinquent behaviors. Implications for intervention programs are also presented.

Examining the Contemporaneous, Short-Term, and Long-Term Effects of Secondary Exposure to Violence on Adolescent Substance Use

The relationship between secondary exposure to violence-defined as witnessing violence in the home, community, or school-and adolescent substance use is well-documented. Yet, multi-wave empirical studies examining this relationship are sparse. In addition, studies have only begun to examine whether this relationship varies by the situational components of the violent event. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), this study examines the contemporaneous, short-term, and long-term effects of secondary exposure to violence on substance use, and whether witnessing violence in which a weapon is present has a different impact on adolescent substance use than does witnessing violence without a weapon. Hierarchical logistic regression models on a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 1670 youth (51.5% female) residing in 79 neighborhoods indicated that: (1) the effects of secondary exposure to violence on alcohol and marijuana use were enduring, albeit attenuated, over time; (2) the effect of secondary exposure to violence on illicit drug use was suppressed in the short-term but significant in the long-term; (3) witnessing violence without a weapon was salient for alcohol and marijuana use at all time points; and (4) witnessing violence with a weapon impacted illicit drug use in the long-term. The results suggest that addressing the consequences of secondary exposure to violence requires prolonged intervention efforts and that the study of secondary exposure to violence requires a more nuanced approach that accounts for situational aspects of the violent event.

The Influence of Early Strain on Later Strain, Stress Responses, and Aggression by Police Officers

Research has established policing as one of the most stressful occupations and that work-induced strain can lead to various criminal and negative outcomes. This study extends existing literature in criminology and criminal justice by applying general strain theory to police stress. This study examines the influence of prior strain—namely, child abuse and interparental violence—on officer critical incident strain, psychological–physiological stress responses, and officer-on-officer aggression. Data analyzed the stress responses of 1,104 police officers from the Police Stress and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland, and results show that prior strain events influence respondents in three key ways. First, those reporting exposure to childhood strain had higher work-related strain scores. Second, youthful strain events and work-related critical incident strain are associated with increased stress. Finally, child abuse exposure and critical incident strain increases the odds of officer-on-officer violence among participants. The sample offers several important implications for strain theory because it includes only adult respondents and offers some degree of control for serious adolescent delinquency.

Strain, negative emotions, and juvenile delinquency: the United States versus taiwan

General strain theory (GST) is an established criminological theory. Although the theory has been examined by many and enjoys empirical support, some limitations of previous studies need to be addressed. Many previous studies rely heavily on samples from Western countries, mostly the United States; thus, possible cultural influences are ignored. Although a few studies have moved forward by using subjects from Asia (e.g., China, Korea), these studies only provide empirical results regarding whether GST is applicable in other cultures. However, these studies do not directly compare Western and Eastern countries. The present study used two samples from the United States and Taiwan to directly compare and contrast central GST propositions. Although most of the GST propositions are found to be similar between the U.S. and Taiwanese juveniles, some differences were also discovered. Explanation of these similarities and differences from their cultural perspectives are offered in this study.