Do Unstructured Routines Modify the Link Between Social-Psychological Strain and Adolescent Offending?

In this article, based on Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST), main as well as interactive effects of social-psychological strain and unstructured routines in the explanation of petty crime and serious delinquency are studied in a general adolescent population. Data signify that family and school st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal on criminal policy and research 2010-12, Vol.16 (4), p.221-235
Main Authors: Op de Beeck, Hanne, Pauwels, Lieven
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Crime
Criminal Justice Policy
Criminology and Criminal Justice
Family
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile Offenders
Law and Criminology
Political Science
Schools
Social behaviour
Social psychology
Social Theories
Strain Theory
Stress
Studies
Youth
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Summary:In this article, based on Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST), main as well as interactive effects of social-psychological strain and unstructured routines in the explanation of petty crime and serious delinquency are studied in a general adolescent population. Data signify that family and school strain does relate to adolescent offending. However, chances of these types of strain leading to adolescent offending are highest amongst youth who do not engage in unstructured routines, which indicates that individual- and situational-based causes of offending have a great potential of being studied together. Strain resulting from a beloved person getting ill or passing away, on the other hand, only relates to adolescent offending through unstructured routines. Finally, it was found that strain mechanisms are more important in the explanation of serious delinquency than petty crime. Implications for further research as well as for the future of GST are discussed.
ISSN:0928-1371
1572-9869
DOI:10.1007/s10610-010-9127-6