General Strain Theory Summary

Thirteen-year-old Peter White, is an average eighth grader. He is captain of his soccer team, has a 3.0 GPA, and has a handful of friends. At school, Peter does not cause any trouble and is liked by his teachers. He participates in class and teachers categorize him as a kind and respectful student. Peter comes from a two-parent household and has a younger brother who is 5 years old. Lately, his parents have noticed he has trouble sleeping and some nights he wets his bed. On Friday April 27, 2018, Peter was accused of sexually abusing another boy at school, Jack Martinez. Jack states that after soccer practice, Peter and he were left alone in the locker room waiting for their rides home. This is when Peter insisted they play a “game.” The game

Robert Agnew’s GST argues that any person on any social class can commit criminal behavior after experiencing the negative effects of strain (Anderson,). Therefore, strain can be caused by different factors that are not solely economic. Additionally, Agnew explains that crime is a result of negative states resulting from anger, frustration, and adverse emotions that lead to destructive social relationships. Agnew adds that anger is an important factor when deciding to commit because it can inspire the individual’s desire for

Thaxton surveyed 6000 juveniles across the United States to determine is strains such as perception of the police, school environment, and victimization impact an individual’s chance of criminal coping. The survey was created to identify ten risk factors that can impact the if the individual chooses to cope with strain through criminal activity. These ten risk factors include: sex, low attachment to mother, poor parental monitoring, impulsivity, risk-seeking, neutralization, guilt, low school commitment, and delinquent peer commitment. Thaxton found that these ten risk factors indeed do increase the likelihood of criminal coping. Individuals who were exposed to these strains and had negative emotions chose crime more frequently (Thaxton, 2017). Hence, according to the General Strain Theory, Peter’s delinquency was a result of the sexual abuse he suffered. Peter’s poor relationship with his mother and denial from his father contributed to his delinquency. Although Peter was constantly sexually abused by his father, he felt close to him in an unusual way. This is why Peter was angered to learn his father preferred his brother over him. So, when he went to school the next day he was motivated by his emotions. As Thaxton explained, Peter decided to cope through criminality because