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Although Agnew's (1992) general strain theory (GST) has secured a fair degree of support since its introduction, researchers have had trouble explaining why some individuals are more likely than others to react to strain with delinquency. This study uses data from the National Survey of Children to address this issue. Drawing on Agnew (1997) and the psychological research on personality traits, it is predicted that juveniles high in negative emotionality and low in constraint will be more likely to react to strain with delinquency. Data support this prediction.
General strain theory (GST) has secured a fair degree of empirical support since its introduction in 1992 (Agnew, 1992). Research suggests that many types of strain falling under the theory are related to delinquency, with certain studies indicating that strain affects subsequent delinquency and that the impact of strain on delinquency is at least partly mediated by negative emotions like anger (Agnew, 1985; Agnew and Brezina, 1997; Agnew and White, 1992; Agnew et al., 1996; Aseltine et al., 2000; Baron and Hartnagel, 1997; Brezina, 1998, 1999; Broidy, 2001; Burton and Dunaway, 1994; Cernkovich et al., 2000; Colvin, 2000; Hagan and McCarthy, 1997; Hoffmann and Cerbone, 1999; Hoffmann and Miller, 1998; Hoffmann and Su, 1997; Katz, 2000; Mazerolle, 1998; Mazerolle and Maahs, 2000; Mazerolle and Piquero, 1997, 1998; Mazerolle et al., 2000; Paternoster and Mazerolle, 1994; Piquero and Sealock, 2000). At the same time, the research poses a major challenge for GST.
GST recognizes that only some strained individuals turn to delinquency, and it predicts that several factors condition the impact of strain on delinquency. There is little support for such predictions, however. This severely limits the explanatory power of GST. Most forms of strain have only small to moderate overall effects on delinquency, reflecting the fact that only some people respond to strain with delinquency. If GST is to better explain delinquency, it must identify the factors that influence the reaction to strain. Identifying such factors also has important policy implications. As Agnew (1995a) notes, we can reduce crime not only by reducing strain, but also by addressing the factors that influence the reaction to strain. This paper uses data from the National Survey of Children to examine the extent to which certain major personality traits...