Schools, strain and offending: Testing a school contextual version of General Strain Theory

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne Op de Beeck ◽  
Lieven J.R. Pauwels ◽  
Johan Put
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Contextual Effects ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
School Level ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Violent Offending ◽  
Individual Strain ◽  
General Strain ◽  
Lifestyle Risks

Based on the idea that schools are important socializing settings for adolescents (Gottfredson, 2001), the school contextual version of General Strain Theory (Agnew, 1999) is tested in this article. The main hypothesis of this study is that strain at the school level affects individual offending by creating individual strain. Findings suggest that school contextual effects differ: convincing contextual effects are found for violent offending but not for general offending. Furthermore, although the school mean level of strain does significantly affect individual violent offending, this effect does not proceed by creating individual strain. It is therefore suggested that the school mean level of strain either has a direct effect on violent offending or influences other important individual offending mechanisms such as social learning or lifestyle risks.

scholarly journals Pathways to Self-Injury: A Qualitative Exploration of Social Psychological Processes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Wojciechowski
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Control Theory ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Temporal Dimension ◽  
Self Injury ◽  
Causal Pathway ◽  
General Strain

Self-injury is a deviant behavior often understood as the intentional infliction of harm onto one’s own body that exists absent of suicidal. This study uses a qualitative methodology to examine the etiology and perpetuation of self-injury using the terminology of relevant social-psychological theories to determine which processes best describe a causal pathway leading to self-injury and its perpetuation after the onset of the behavior. Data obtained from 16 semi-structured interviews with former and current self-injurers indicate that the processes described in general strain theory, social learning theory, and social control theory are all important for understanding the etiology and perpetuation of self-injury. Analytic induction was utilized as the method of analysis in order to parse out only the elements universal to pathways to self-injury evident in all of the examined cases. All participants used self-injury as coping response for mitigating negative affect stemming from strain, thus, implicating general strain theory as important for understanding the onset of self-injury. Participants were categorized into two subtypes of self-injurers based upon the temporal dimension of the social learning process. Future research should attempt to use quantitative methodologies to provide generalizability for the results of this study and examine how changes in risk and protective factors over the life-course modify one’s propensity to engage in self-injury.

Life Stress, Strain, and Deviance Across Schools: Testing the Contextual Version of General Strain Theory in China

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (8) ◽  
pp. 2447-2460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinwu Zhang ◽  
Jianhong Liu ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Anquan Zou
Keyword(s):  
Life Stress ◽  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Individual Strain ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
General Strain ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Theory Test

General Strain Theory delineates different types of strain and intervening processes from strain to deviance and crime. In addition to explaining individual strain–crime relationship, a contextualized version of general strain theory, which is called the Macro General Strain Theory, has been used to analyze how aggregate variables influence aggregate and individual deviance and crime. Using a sample of 1,852 students (Level 1) nested in 52 schools (Level 2), the current study tests the Macro General Strain Theory using Chinese data. The results revealed that aggregate life stress and strain have influences on aggregate and individual deviance, and reinforce the individual stress–deviance association. The current study contributes by providing the first Macro General Strain Theory test based on Chinese data and offering empirical evidence for the multilevel intervening processes from strain to deviance. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

A TEST OF GENERAL STRAIN THEORY*

Criminology ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
LISA M. BROIDY
Keyword(s):  
General Strain Theory ◽  
Strain Theory ◽  
General Strain
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