This three-paper dissertation tests whether General Strain Theory (GST) can be helpful in explaining the relationship between strains experienced by refugee youth and youth’s anti-social behaviors such as delinquency and radicalization to violence and what factors mediate the relationship between strain and crime. Additionally, it uses mixed methods combining community meaning-making with quantitative research methods to provide multiple lenses to the issue of youth and negative outcomes. The first chapter presents the context in which Somali refugee youth experiences should be examined as well as relevant literature. The second chapter examines if GST can help us understand the experiences of Somali youth and delinquencies. It examines if three strains (procedural injustice, teacher punishment, and family conflict) are significantly related to crimes against people among this population and if this relationship is mediated by mental health symptoms and marginalization. The results show that both procedural justice and teacher punishment were able to predict crimes against people but the relationship between procedural injustice and crimes against people was fully mediated by mental health symptoms and by marginalization while the relationship between teacher mistreatment and crime remained significant even when mental health symptoms and marginalization were added to the equation. Surprisingly, while the family conflict was highly correlated with both marginalization and mental health symptoms, it was not significantly related to crimes against people. The third chapter applies GST to radicalization to violence among Somali youth. It examines whether three strains (procedural injustice, teacher punishment, and family conflict) predict youth radicalization to violence and whether this relationship is mediated by individual-level factors such as mental health, marginalization and gang attitudes. The analysis shows that only procedural injustice is significantly related to radicalization to violence and that both marginalization and gang attitudes fully mediated the relationship while mental health partially mediated it. The final chapter uses Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to examine community meaning making around youth radicalization. Qualitative interview results show that community members were able to identify important structural, cultural and individual level factors that led to youth radicalization and that many of the factors that they identified such as police and teacher mistreatment and gang presence where similar to the findings in the quantitative research.

The thesis examines Thomas De Quincey’s opium use as a product of social strain. De Quincey’s collection of work provides evidence that he felt alienated from society prior to his addiction and that his feelings of inadequacy contributed to his dependence on drugs. Utilizing Robert K. Merton’s strain theory, this thesis delineates De Quincey’s aspirational references and perceived failures through an examination of his imagery and interprets his perceptions of human life as a catalyst for his compulsions to cope with opium. De Quincey, strained by the aspirations of an industrial and imperialistic society, looked for several avenues of escape. The Romanticism of William Wordsworth presented De Quincey with a method for alleviating social strain; however, when De Quincey failed to discover the transcendence evident in Lyrical Ballads he turned to the intoxicating effects of opium and retreated from English society.

Racial inequality within the juvenile justice system has been cited by numerous studies. This racial inequality is generally referred to as disproportionate minority contact (DMC), and the causes have been debated in the literature for decades. Using a relatively unique methodology for DMC literature, this study incorporated in-depth interview data from thirty male juveniles residing in a private correctional facility to elucidate possible causes of DMC. By analyzing and comparing the experiences of incarcerated juveniles, support for theories of systemic racism, Donald Black’s self-help or the community justice theory, and Agnew’s general strain theory was found. Themes that emerged from the qualitative data include differences in neighborhood and family contexts for minorities compared to whites, variations in motivations for engagement in criminal activity, and differences in the interactions with police officers and perceptions of the police based on race. Specifically, major findings show minority participants were more likely to describe anger and revenge as the most common reason for committing crimes compared to whites, who frequently cited boredom as their primary reason for engaging in criminal activity. Furthermore, black, Latino, and Native American participants were more likely to report growing up in dangerous neighborhoods than whites. Police interactions also showed a racial discrepancy, with whites receiving more chances from the police, and minorities being repeatedly arrested by the same officer slightly more frequently than whites. Overall, findings suggest that disproportionate minority contact is a result of disproportionate levels of strain and injustice experienced by minorities compared to whites.

The present study drew on Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST) to examine the relationship between strain, race, and delinquent behavior. To address this possible association, five hypotheses were tested to examine if different types of strain and stress exposure influence delinquent coping and if these relationships are conditioned by race and ethnicity. Using data from the Add Health Study, White, African American, and Hispanic adolescents, the present study attempts to generalize GST to different racial and ethnic groups. Results from OLS and negative binomial regression analyses indicate that some support was found for GST, in that indicators of strain to varying degrees predicted negative emotionality and youth involvement in nonserious and serious delinquency. Negative emotionality, however, did not mediate the relationship between strain and nonserious and serious delinquency. While, White, African American, and Hispanic youth did experience certain types of strain that lead to delinquent coping, these groups overall were not statistically different from one another. Furthermore, race and ethnicity were directly related to delinquent coping mechanisms, providing evidence that GST cannot fully explain the overrepresentation of minorities as delinquent offenders. A discussion of the findings, theoretical implications and directions for future research are highlighted.

Research indicates that school engagement (SE) and delinquency affect one another and share numerous common causes; however, little literature exists regarding the temporal nature of this relationship. Using the data set from the Children and Young Adult Sample of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the proposed study will estimate the reciprocal effects of SE and delinquency across time using latent variable structural equation modeling. Specifically, social bonding theory (Hirschi, 2002), strain theory (Agnew, 1992), and the participation-identification model of SE (Finn, 1989), will be drawn upon to create and analyze a cross-lagged panel model. Additionally, this study will identify ages during which school disengagement is most likely to result in participation in delinquent activities. / text

This thesis uses the Canadian Drugs and Alcohol survey conducted in 1994 by Statistics Canada to explore how Agnew’s (1992, 2001, 2006) general strain theory can help to understand drug and alcohol use in Canada. Agnew argues that experiences of strain, which include an array of negative life events, produce a negative emotional response which creates pressure for corrective action. In postulating why certain individuals are more likely to react to strain with deviant behaviour, Agnew (1992, 2001, 2006) emphasizes the importance of variables that condition the effects of strain on deviance. It is argued that people are less likely to respond to strain with deviant coping strategies depending upon their levels of social control, constraint, social support and deviant peers and values (Agnew 1992; Broidy and Agnew 1997; Agnew 2006). Results are very supportive of GST as measures of objective and subjective strains as well measures of the conditioning variables are consistently associated with drug and alcohol use in hypothesized directions; strain measures also tended to interact with conditioning variables in associations with substance use. Hypotheses surrounding gender differences were also supported as females generally scored higher than males on measures argued to protect against the effects of strain and lower on measures argued to encourage deviant coping. Additionally, objective financial strain tended to have a stronger effect on male substance use while subjective strains tended to be more important in the prediction of female substance use. Avenues for further research are discussed including ways to ameliorate the adaptation of GST to gendered substance use patterns. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2009-08-31 12:12:25.288

Robert Agnew’s general strain theory (1992, 2001, 2006a) proposes that strain leads to crime and deviance. Substance use is a specific type of criminal behaviour that the theory attempts to explain. This thesis uses general strain theory to examine how a number of specific types of strain – homelessness, childhood abuse, criminal victimisation, and sex work – are related to substance use. In addition, the relationships between strain and negative emotions are examined. This thesis also examines how the relationships between strain and substance use are conditioned by negative emotionality/low constraint, deviant peers, deviant values, coping skills, self-esteem, and emotional support. Finally, the role of gender in all of the above-mentioned relationships is explored. In short, this thesis represents a fairly comprehensive test of general strain theory as it applies to substance use. In order to conduct this test, data was obtained between May 2009 and August 2010 by administering a survey to 400 homeless street youth in Toronto, Ontario. The results yield substantial support for some of GST’s main propositions. In particular, support is found for hypothesized relationships between strain and substance use as well as strain and negative emotions. Additionally, certain factors are found to condition the relationships between strain and substance use. Finally, gender differences in the relationships between strain and substance use are observed. These supportive results suggest that general strain theory is a novel way of explaining substance use by homeless street youth in Canada. Consequently, suggestions for future research and social policy are offered. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-27 02:09:39.94

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 166-174).

abstract: The link between victimization and offending is well established in the literature, yet an unexplored causal pathway within this relationship is concerned with why some individuals engage in maladaptive coping in response to victimization. In particular, those with low self-control may be attracted to problematic yet immediately gratifying forms of coping post-victimization (e.g., substance use), which may increase their likelihood of violent offending in the future. Using three waves of adolescent panel data from the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program, this research examines: (1) whether individuals with low-self control are more likely to engage in substance use coping following violent victimization, and (2) whether victims with low self-control who engage in substance use coping are more likely to commit violent offenses in the future. The results from negative binomial regressions support these hypotheses, even after controlling for prior offending, peer influences, prior substance abuse, and other forms of offending. The implications for integrating general strain and self-control theories, as well as for our understanding of the victimization-offending overlap, are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Criminology and Criminal Justice 2011

abstract: General Strain Theory (GST) posits that different types of strain lead to different types of negative emotions, some of which increase the likelihood of maladaptive coping. Much research on GST has focused on anger and depression. Far less attention has been directed toward other negative emotions, including anxiety and envy. The current study uses cross-sectional data from surveys administered to a university-based sample (N = 500) to address these voids and explore gender differences in the effects of strain and negative emotions in maladaptive coping. Results indicate that when gender differences existed in levels of strain and negative emotions, females experienced higher levels than males. Strain significantly predicted all four measures of negative emotions examined in this study. Finally, different negative emotions were found to have differing effects on different measures of maladaptive coping. Implications of this study for theory, future research, and policy are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2015