Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Joseph M. Fox, Dept. of Chemistry & Biochemistry. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis is an exploration of strain, its sources, its manifestation, and how individuals cope with it. The particular scenario under investigation is that of Christian university students in a secular academic environment. Using Agnew’s general strain theory, Goffman’s theory of discreditable stigma, subcultural theory, and recent advances in the study of social capital, the strain experienced by Christian students in a secular university atmosphere was explored. Ethnographic content analysis of on-campus Christian groups, participant observation and semi-structured interviews of 43 Christian university students were used to investigate four postulates: 1. Christian students experience strain as a result of their religiosity on a secular campus; 2. This strain manifests as a discreditable stigma; 3. This strain results in Christian students becoming members of on-campus Christian groups (seeking a subculture); and 4. Memberships in Christian groups provide access to support through social capital. There was evidence to support postulates 1, 2, and 4, while postulate 3 was not supported by the data collected. Strain theory proved to be a useful concept for understanding how Christian students interacted with their secular environment. The data suggest that the university atmosphere was challenging to their beliefs both inside and outside the classroom. Christian students also indicated that they often censored themselves in front of their colleagues and peers and did not feel comfortable disclosing their Christian beliefs to new friends. The reason given for this was more time was needed in order to quell certain negative assumptions and stereotypes that non-Christians may have about Christians. This description is suggestive of Goffman’s concept of discreditable stigma, in that stigmatized persons attempt to “pass” so that their stigma (Christianity in this case) will not prejudice current and future encounters. Students did not join Christian groups as a way to cope with the strain they felt within academia, as many students joined these groups upon entry into university (rather than joining after encountering strain). It was found that students experienced benefits from membership within Christian groups, demonstrating the utility of social capital (i.e., network of support) as a conceptual framework. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-19 14:43:51.989

abstract: Many parents are incarcerated, and most are eventually released. Parents that have to return home from prison may encounter difficulties adjusting to being a parent on the outside. Two competing criminological theories – social control and strain – build the framework for two pathways after release from prison – desistance or recidivism. The principal question of this study examines how being a parent to a minor child has an effect on the reentry pathways, and an interaction between being a parent and gender tests the differences between mothers and fathers. Existing studies have produced mixed results with some studies suggesting that minor children are a protective factor, and some suggesting the struggles of returning parents. Research has also shown that incarcerated mothers and fathers experience their incarceration differently, and it is surmised that this would have an impact on their reentry. Data used in this study were obtained through structured interviews with 952 inmates housed in the Arizona Department of Corrections in 2010 (n= 517 males (54%); n= 435 females (46%)). Logistic regression models show that having at least one minor child does not significantly impact the reentry outcomes for parents as compared to nonparents. In addition, the interaction between minor children and gender was also not significant – there were no differences between mothers and fathers. The statistically insignificant findings most likely show the cancelling effects of two distinct pathways for reentry. Implications of the findings are discussed below. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2016

Research in the area of juvenile delinquency indicates that a high percentage of juvenile offenders have social-emotional problems. According to Agnew's General Strain Theory, negative emotional responses result from juvenile offenders who experience certain strains that he or she dislikes and these emotional responses may create pressure for the juvenile offender to respond through criminal acts. Although some study results suggest that negative emotional responses may mediate the effects of strain on delinquency, other studies have found them to be unrelated. The purpose of the current study was to examine if a juvenile offender's negative, internalizing problems such as depression and anxiety play a mediating role between measures of school and family strain and his or her total number of offenses. Participants consisted of 79 detained youth from a short-term detention center in the U.S. Southwest. There were 91% male and 9% female participants, with an age range of 11 to 17 years of age. The study consisted of 53.2% Latino(a), 25.3% White, 8.9% multiracial, 5.1% African American, 3.8% Native American, and 1.3% Vietnamese. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that school strain and a composite measure of strain were significantly associated with total number of offenses. School strain was significantly associated with depressive and anxious symptoms. Family strain and the composite measure of strain were only significantly associated with depressive symptoms. No significant association was found between the internalizing problems of depression and anxiety and total number of offenses. Therefore, depression and anxiety did not mediate the role between the measures of school and family strain and total number of offenses. Implications of these findings, as well as limitations and areas of future research are also discussed.

Robert Agnew proposed a new version of strain theory in 1992. In this article, Agnew argued that strain is not only a result of the blocked opportunity to achieve goals as Merton had argued, but that strain also results from the removal of positively valued stimuli and the presence of negative stimuli. With such a theory, criminologist had focused on how this may explain juvenile delinquency. Yet very little attention was given to how this may affect adult criminality as well. Similarly, Hirschi (1969) presented social control theory as a means of describing the causes of juvenile delinquency. While these theories have been repeatedly tested and supported with respect to delinquency, they have rarely been used to describe adult criminality. This paper intends to compare the utility of Agnew's general strain theory and Hirschi's control theory in explaining the criminal behavior of fathers. For general strain theory, it is predicted that fathers who have either high contact and low relationship quality or who have low contact and high relationship quality will have significantly higher criminal activity than those who have high contact and relationship quality or low contact and relationship quality. Conversely, social control theory predicts that fathers who have low relationship qualities with their children are more likely to commit criminal acts. This paper aims to ascertain which of these hypotheses is more accurate. / Master of Science

In Sweden there are approximately 45 000 people that show signs of being dependant on narcotics, and there are approximately 26 000 people who can be defined as heavy users. Heavy users is defined by Centralförbundet för alkohol- och narkotikaupplysning as persons who have injected narcotics of any kind in the last 12 months or persons who have had a daily or practically daily use of narcotics the last four weeks. The aim of this study was to understand why people with a current heavy drug use are not in treatment. Through interviews their perceptions and attitudes towards drug treatment were raised to create understanding as to why they are not in treatment. The information was collected through semi-structured interviews with ten people with a current heavy drug use. The interviews were transcribed and a content analysis was applied. The results indicated that there are mixed thoughts about treatment but also that most participants did want treatment. Even though all participants had experience of treatment not working for them, many were motivated to try something new or try the same treatment again. The conclusion was that the participants are searching for a more individual based treatment since they felt like the treatment that they had been offered did not work for them. / <p>2017-06-01</p>

Given the current United States prison population of 1.5 million persons, many states have begun to examine how to effectively reduce correctional expenditures, considering in 2011 healthcare related prison costs increased to approximately eight billion (The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2014). Recent research attributes much of this increase to the prevalence of disease and aging within the prison population (Williams et al., 2012; Dumont et al., 2012; Gallagher, 2001; Ahalt et al., 2013). Alternatively, little attention has been devoted to measuring the disparity in health among minority male inmates or the effects of identifying more cost effective health initiatives that address negative health outcomes. With incarceration and health expenditures rates steadily increasing within the United States, studies have highlighted the positive correlation between incarceration and the costs of inmate health, as well as the implications associated with physical illness and its overarching effects on the performance of correctional health care. This study represents an attempt at bridging the gap between preventative health care and criminal justice efforts within the literature in its examination of the demographics, history of incarceration, chronic illness, and current medical conditions of minority male inmates within the state correctional facilities.

Agnew's (1985, 1992) General Strain Theory (GST) proposed that strain, the presence of negative events in one's life, is related to an individual's level of delinquent behavior. In particular, strains elicit a negative emotional response (most notably anger), creating a pressure within the individual to react or cope. Additionally, GST suggests that individuals who lack more conventional means to cope with negative life stressors will turn to delinquent coping mechanisms, such as retaliatory or escape-avoidance behaviors, to reduce the stress. The primary aim of this work is to test whether a proposed pro-social coping mechanism, cognitive coping (Agnew 1992, 2001, 2006), influences the strain-delinquency relationship; particularly whether the ability to cognitively cope reduces the use of deviant coping mechanisms. Utilizing data from the base year of the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS: 2002), this analysis will test whether encountering negative stimuli within the school setting is positively related to students' levels of delinquency. Further, it examines whether cognitive/problem-solving ability has a moderating effect on this relationship. Analysis indicate that when faced with similar levels of strain, individuals with higher cognitive coping abilities are less likely to resort to delinquent coping mechanisms. Arming students with tools to cognitively reinterpret the strains they encounter may lessen the occurrence of delinquent behaviors exhibited in schools (Pearlin 1989; Agnew 2006). Expanding knowledge of what factors negatively influence students, causing them to demonstrate delinquent behaviors in school, and avenues for handling these stressors may have widespread policy and curriculum implications.

As a group, Native American youth have elevated rates of delinquency and substance use. However, research specifically examining the etiology of delinquency among Native American youth is sparse. In order to fill this gap, this study utilized a general strain theory (GST) framework integrated with feminist criminological insights and an indigenist stress-coping model (ISCM) to examine the impact of victimization as a source of strain (i.e., interpersonal victimization, sexual assault, and peer assault) on delinquent outcomes (i.e., violent and property delinquency, alcohol and marijuana use) among a sample of Native American youth attending school (and likely residing) on or near Indian reservations. This study utilized secondary data from the third wave of the Drug Use Among Young American Indians: Epidemiology and Prediction: 1993-2006 and 2009-2013 study (N = 2,457). Partial proportional odds (PPO) models were estimated to examine the potential non-linear effects of victimization on delinquency while ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models were estimated to test the mediation and moderation hypotheses within GST. Models were estimated for the total sample and for males and females separately to assess for gender differences in GST processes. Special attention was paid to the role of Native American cultural identity as a moderator in the strain - delinquency relationship. Results indicate mixed support for hypotheses drawn from GST.

<p>Vi arbetar idag mindre tid än vad den arbetande människan gjort under tidigare årtionden, och många hävdar att vi måste arbeta mer för att vi ska kunna bibehålla vår standard. Men sammantaget, betalt och obetalt arbete, sett ur en familjs perspektiv arbetar många väldigt mycket idag, och med högt ställda krav både på jobbet och i hemmet.Ett antal försök med förkortad arbetstid har gjorts på olika arbetsplatser i landet, de flesta inom kommun och landsting, men få har genomförts med både för- och efterstudie. Vi har i vår studie utgått från den arbetstidsförkortning som genomfördes på Radiumhemmet 2003 där vi genomförde en förstudie där alla som skulle delta i försöket fick svara på en enkät innan projektet påbörjades. När projektet pågått tre månader skickade vi ut ytterligare en enkät till deltagarna. Utöver de som deltagit i projektet med arbetstidsförkortning har vi även genomfört motsvarande studie med en kontrollgrupp bestående av sjuksköterskor som arbetade med normal arbetstid. Vi har i vår undersökning fokuserat på Karaseks krav- och kontrollmodell och deltagarnas välbefinnande före och efter införandet av arbetstids-förkortningen. Frågorna vi har använt oss av utgår från samma som i undersökningarna av levnadsförhållanden (ULF). Eftersom vi också tror att, hur vi använder vår fritid påverkar hur vi mår på vårt arbete, har vi utöver Karaseks krav/kontrollmodell, också använt oss av The role strain theory då vi har studerat hur deltagarna har använt sin nyvunna fria tid och ställt dessa svar i relation till hur nöjda de var med sina nya arbetstider.Resultaten av vår studie visade att arbetstidsförkortningen inneburit ökade krav såsom att arbetet blivit mer jäktigt och att den psykiska stressen hade ökat samtidigt som kontrollen hade minskat då det blivit svårare att hinna med sina arbetsuppgifter. Trots detta visade resultaten att den kortare arbetstiden kan lätta den totala arbetsbördan genom att frigöra tid till annat än betalt arbete, såsom hushålls- och hemarbete samt fritidssysselsättningar och på så sätt öka individens välbefinnande.</p>