Examining How Testosterone and Cortisol Influence the Relationship Between Strain, Negative Emotions, and Antisocial Behavior: A Gendered Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 1470-1501
Author(s):  
Eric M. Cooke ◽  
Eric J. Connolly ◽  
Danielle L. Boisvert ◽  
Todd A. Armstrong ◽  
Richard H. Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Antisocial Behavior ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
Cortisol Reactivity ◽  
General Strain ◽  
The Relationship

This study provides a test of General Strain Theory by examining the relations between strain, negative emotions, and biological hormones in the prediction of antisocial behavior across gender. Findings from a diverse sample of 512 undergraduate students reveal that strain and the ratio between testosterone to cortisol reactivity are associated with higher levels of antisocial behavior in males, but not females. In contrast, the effect of depressive symptoms on antisocial behavior is stronger at higher levels of strain and ratio of testosterone to cortisol reactivity in females. Drug use and depressive symptoms were found to partly mediate the association between strain and antisocial behavior in females, but not males.

General Strain Theory and the Relationship Between Early Victimization and Drug Use

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dena C. Carson ◽  
Christopher J. Sullivan ◽  
John K. Cochran ◽  
Kim M. Lersch
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
General Strain ◽  
The Relationship

“I’m Not a Traditional Woman”: Tranquilizer Misuse as Self-Medication Among Adult Women

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 1562-1585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy Brooks Dollar ◽  
Joshua A. Hendrix
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
Adult Women ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
General Strain ◽  
Using Data

Research consistently finds that men use all types of drugs more frequently and extensively than women. However, the misuse of prescription tranquilizers provides an exception. Recent research has found that women are more likely to misuse tranquilizers than men, yet few efforts have been made to systematically understand why this is the case and whether there are gendered factors that might help explain their misuse. Building on general strain theory and other scholarship concerning the links between psychological strain, mental–emotional health, and illicit drug use, we employed a mixed-methods design to investigate the interrelationships between gender, mental health, and tranquilizer misuse. Using data from the 2010 National Survey of Drug Use and Health, we examined tranquilizer misuse among women using various social, demographic, and health-related characteristics. Following this, we drew on nine in-depth interviews with adult women aged 21 to 69 years who reported a history of misusing tranquilizers. The quantitative data reveal that the odds of tranquilizer misuse are nearly two times higher for each unit increase on the poor mental health scale. Whereas being married increases the risk of misuse, having young children is associated with a decreased risk. Our analysis of the interview data reveals three main themes, related to tranquilizer access, reasons for misuse, and shame related to misuse. The interviews clearly uncover tranquilizer misuse as an attempt by women to manage competing demands between their work and home lives, and more specifically as a means of promoting success in both devotions. We conclude by arguing that women’s misuse of tranquilizers is a gendered behavior in response to gender-specific strains, which in turn reproduces gendering as an institution as well as in individual lives. The implications of these findings for general strain theory are also discussed.

General Strain Theory

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Brezina
Keyword(s):  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Theory Of Crime ◽  
Crime And Delinquency ◽  
General Strain

General strain theory (GST) provides a unique explanation of crime and delinquency. In contrast to control and learning theories, GST focuses explicitly on negative treatment by others and is the only major theory of crime and delinquency to highlight the role of negative emotions in the etiology of offending. According to GST, the experience of strain or stress tends to generate negative emotions such as anger, frustration, depression, and despair. These negative emotions, in turn, are said to create pressures for corrective action, with crime or delinquency being one possible response. GST was designed, in part, to address criticisms leveled against previous versions of strain theory. Earlier versions of strain theory have been criticized for focusing on a narrow range of possible strains, for their inability to explain why only some strained individuals resort to crime or delinquency, and for limited empirical support. GST has been partly successful in overcoming these limitations. Since its inception, the theory has received a considerable amount of attention from researchers, has enjoyed a fair amount of empirical support, and has been credited with helping to revitalize the strain theory tradition. The full potential of GST has yet to be realized, however, as the theory continues to evolve and further testing is required.

scholarly journals Victimization, Crime Propensity, and Deviance: A Multinational Test of General Strain Theory

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 410-430
Author(s):  
Marco Teijón-Alcalá ◽  
Christopher Birkbeck
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
Self Report ◽  
General Strain ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Recent Extension

General Strain Theory (GST) identifies victimization as one of the strains most strongly related to crime which, like other sources of strain, is moderated by individual and social factors. Recently, Agnew extended the theorization of coping strategies by proposing that the effects of strain on deviance are conditioned by individual and social factors in combination, rather than singly, which he labeled crime propensity. Tests of the propensity hypothesis have so far yielded mixed results, highlighting the value of additional studies. Whereas previous tests have focused on single countries, either in North America or Asia, we test the propensity hypothesis using data on adolescents in 25 countries collected through the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD3; n = 57,760). A series of ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions show that the relationship between victimization and delinquency/substance use is conditioned by the effects of individuals’ crime propensity, thereby supporting the recent extension to GST.

scholarly journals Are the Effects of Poverty and Victimization on Criminal Recidivism Mediated by Depression as Predicted by General Strain Theory? A Longitudinal Study of Provincially Sentenced Women

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Newman
Keyword(s):  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Female Offenders ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Criminal Recidivism ◽  
General Strain ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Provincially Sentenced

The current study is a longitudinal analysis of psychosocial factors contributing to re-offending among 125 adult female offenders. Drawing on General Strain Theory (GST), the study examined the role of victimization and poverty on criminal recidivism and investigated whether this relationship was mediated by depression. Regression, survival, and mediational analyses were employed to examine the impact of these variables on criminal recidivism. Findings revealed that using illegal means to make ends meet, and having survived childhood sexual abuse, were particularly important predictors of recidivism for women in the study sample, although depression was not found to significantly mediate the relationship between strain and recidivism. Implications for future research on female recidivism and helping women to stay crime-free are discussed.

Gender, Bullying Victimization, Depressive Symptoms, and Suicidality

2019 ◽  
pp. 0306624X1989596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Strohacker ◽  
Lauren E. Wright ◽  
Stephen J. Watts
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
Bullying Victimization ◽  
Full Model ◽  
Cyberbullying Victimization ◽  
School Based ◽  
National School ◽  
General Strain

Bullying victimization can have serious consequences for adolescents. This article examines the association between traditional and cyberbullying victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality in a national school-based sample, utilizing general strain theory (GST) as a guide to how these variables might relate to each other. We additionally examine whether the associations between these variables differ by gender. Results suggest that traditional and cyberbullying victimization have significant, positive associations with both depressive symptoms and suicidality. Results are partly supportive of the full model suggested by GST, with the associations between bullying and suicidality being weakened in some models when accounting for depressive symptoms. Gender differences also emerge. These findings are discussed in relation to their relevance for policy and theory.

Gender, General Strain Theory, Negative Emotions, and Disordered Eating

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 380-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Leeper Piquero ◽  
Kristan Fox ◽  
Alex R. Piquero ◽  
George Capowich ◽  
Paul Mazerolle
Keyword(s):  
Disordered Eating ◽  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
General Strain
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