Examining the Gendered Effect of Experienced and Vicarious Victimization: A General Strain Theory Perspective

Although general strain theory has broadened our theoretical perspectives, there remains a need to learn about the relationship between victimization and violence. In addition, studies applying general strain theory have yielded mixed findings about gender issues. Using data from the National Survey of Adolescents (NSA), the current study examined the effects of violent victimization on violent offending by gender. More specifically, the study assessed the relationship between two types of victimization (experienced and vicarious) and three types of violent offending (gang fights, robbery, and assault) and investigated whether gender plays a role in the association. Findings of negative binomial regression analyses offered overall support for experienced and vicarious victimization as predictors of violence. However, gendered effects of experienced and vicarious victimization on violence were not supported by results. Interaction effects between gender and victimization were only significant in baseline models (without control factors), however, became insignificant in full models. The implications of these results and limitations were discussed.     

Assessing the Violent Offending and Violent Victimization Overlap Among Discharged Psychiatric Patients

Prior studies have documented linkages between mental disorder and both offending and victimization. However, few studies have examined the violent offending–violent victimization overlap among mentally disordered individuals and none have examined the factors that are jointly related to their covariation. Here, we assess this overlap during the first ten weeks following hospital discharge among a large sample of psychiatric patients from three large cities. Findings indicate that: (1) violent offending and violent victimization show substantial covariation; (2) although each of the two outcomes were predicted by a few unique risk factors, several risk factors were similarly predictive of both outcomes; and (3) even after adjusting for demographic, clinical, and social risk factors, the correlation between violent offending and violent victimization remained robust. Implications for theory, research, and policy are highlighted.     

Self-Control,Violent Offending,and Homicide Victimization: Assessing the General Theory of Crime

Criminologists have long recognized that offending and victimization share common ground. Using Gottfredson and Hirschis general theory of crime, with its emphasis on self-control as a theoretical backdrop, we examine the extent to which self-control is related to both violent offending and homicide victimization. To examine this issue, we use 5-year post-parole data on violent offending and homicide victimization from a sample of parolees from the California Youth Authority. Using rare-events logistic regression models, results indicate that self-control is related to each outcome, but that other risk factors are also uniquely related to each outcome. The implications of this study for theory and future research are addressed.To whom correspondence should be addressed: Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of Florida, P.O. Box 115950, 201 Walker Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611-5950; Phone: +1-352-392-1025, ext. 213; E-mail: apiquero@ufl.edu     

The Effects of Experienced,Vicarious, and Anticipated Strain on Violence and Drug Use among Inmates

The bulk of research on general strain theory has focused on determining the effect of experienced strain on the illegal or delinquent behaviors of juveniles or young adults. While much has been gained by this research, it is important to understand the role of experiencing and witnessing strain on adult, high risk populations (e.g., adult inmates). The current study examines the effect of experienced, vicarious, and anticipated victimization on inappropriate coping mechanisms of inmates. Specifically, it examines the effect of experiencing or witnessing physical victimization on inmates’ use of violence and drug/alcohol. Survey data from 208 adult parolees show that, at least in controlled environments like prisons, witnessing violence increases the likelihood of engaging in violence and that experiencing and witnessing violence significantly increases the likelihood that inmates will use drugs or alcohol.     

Assessing the Overlap in Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization among South Korean College Students: The Influence of Social Learning and Self-Control

Research has recently begun to identify an overlap of involvement in offending and victimization and a shared commonality of risk factors for both outcomes. Despite this growing body of evidence, this research has yet to have been extended to dating violence in general and in cross cultural samples specifically. Recognizing these gaps in the literature, the current study examines the correlation between psychological and physical dating violence perpetration and victimization among a large sample of South Korean college students. Results from a series of bivariate probit models suggest that there is a strong degree of overlap between dating violence perpetration and victimization and that social learning theory and self-control theory cannot explain away the overlap. Study limitations and implications are also discussed.     

Strain,Negative Emotions,and Deviant Coping Among African Americans: A Test of General Strain Theory

Although previous research on Agnew's (1992) general strain theory (GST) tends to yield significant effects of strain on negative emotions as well as deviance and crime, results tend to be mixed with regard to (1) the effects of negative emotions on deviance and crime and (2) conditioning factors that Agnew suggests affect the selection of coping strategies. To address these issues, we test hypotheses, derived from GST, about the relationships among strain, negative emotions, and deviant coping by analyzing data from a nationally representative sample of African American adults. Ordinary least squares regression results generally support our hypotheses. First, fully mediating the effects of strain on deviant coping, negative emotions have consistently significant effects on deviance, regardless of whether we use composite or separate measures of inner- and outer-directed emotions and deviance. Interestingly, as hypothesized, the same-directed effects of negative emotions on deviant coping are larger than the opposite-directed ones. Second, while self-esteem and self-efficacy as conditioning factors generally fail to receive empirical support, religiosity is found to significantly buffer the effects of negative emotions on deviance. Implications of our findings for further development of GST are discussed.     

Dysfunctional Parenting and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Victimization among College Women: the Mediating Role of Schemas

Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS) are negative cognitions about self and relationships that develop early in life, distort our perceptions of life experiences and are sustained via confirmatory information processing (Young et al. 2003). Although empirical evidence supports the relationship between EMS and psychopathology, there is a relative paucity of research regarding the relationship between EMS and intimate partner violence (IPV). The goal of the present study was to elucidate the complex relations between recollections of dysfunctional parenting, EMS, and IPV victimization and perpetration in adulthood. A sample of 305 women college students completed measures of perceptions of parental bonding, EMS, and relationship conflict behaviors. Results revealed that the EMS of subjugation and self-sacrifice accounted for 13.9% of the variance in IPV victimization; however, the EMS of subjugation was the only significant predictor of IPV victimization and mediated the relationship between recollections of dysfunctional parenting and IPV victimization. Additionally, although the EMS of entitlement, insufficient self-control, mistrust/abuse, abandonment, and social isolation accounted for 11.3% of the variance in IPV perpetration, only the EMS of insufficient self-control and mistrust/abuse were significant predictors of IPV perpetration and mediated the relationship between recollections of dysfunctional parenting and IPV perpetration. Results suggest that these cognitive schemas may be the mechanism through which dysfunctional parenting renders one vulnerable to violence in relationships.     

The Social Ecology of Violent Victimization: Individual and Contextual Effects in the NCVS

Multi-level research has shown that individual and community factors are important predictors of the risk for violent victimization. However, previous analyses have drawn different conclusions about the role of any given factor. These differences likely are related to variations in how violence is measured and to the fact that the data are drawn from different locales. The research presented here uses the 1995 National Crime Victimization Survey and tract-level census data to examine (1) how the risk of violence is distributed across persons and places in the United States and (2) whether empirical findings are sensitive to the operationalization of violence. Results show that some individual-level predictors (e.g., gender and race) are sensitive to the operationalization of violence, whereas others (e.g., age and marital status) are not. In addition, the impact of community characteristics on violence depends on central-city residence. In central cities, persons most at risk are in disadvantaged tracts, with lower proportions of immigrants. Outside central cities, the proportion of immigrants in an area increases risk, while community disadvantage has no independent influence. The importance of an empirical foundation for the development of theories of risk is discussed.     

Effects of Hurricane Katrina and Other Adverse Life Events on Adolescent Female Offenders: A Test of General Strain Theory

This study tested Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST) by examining the roles of anger, anxiety, and maladaptive coping in mediating the relationship between strain and three outcomes (serious delinquency, minor delinquency, and continued involvement in the juvenile justice system) among adolescent female offenders (N = 261). Strains consisted of adverse life events and exposure to Hurricane Katrina. Greater exposure to Hurricane Katrina was directly related to serious delinquency and maladaptive coping. Hurricane Katrina also had an indirect effect on minor delinquency and Post-Katrina juvenile justice involvement mediated through maladaptive coping. Adverse life events were associated with increased anger, anxiety, and maladaptive coping. Anger mediated the relationship between adverse life events and serious delinquency. Anxiety mediated the relationship between adverse life events and minor delinquency. Maladaptive coping strategies were associated with minor delinquency and juvenile justice involvement. Findings lend support to GST.     

Gender and Juvenile Drug Abuse: A General Strain Theory Perspective

This study is a partial test of Robert Agnew's (2006 Agnew , Robert. 2006 . “Pressured Into Crime: General Strain Theory.” Pp. 201 – 209 in Criminological Theory: Past to Present. , 3rd ed. , edited by F. T. Cullen and R. Agnew . Oxford , England : Oxford University Press . [Google Scholar]) general strain theory. The sample consists of 39,879 juveniles between the ages of 10 and 17 from a metropolitan area in Texas with more than 5 million people. Logistic regression is used to determine the effect of living situation on drug offenders, drug recidivists, and juvenile court case outcome when race, abuse, sex, and mental health problems are controlled. Gender-specific analysis is used to test L. Broidy and R. Agnew's (1997 Agnew , Robert and Timothy Brezina . 1997 . “Relational Problems With Peers, Gender, and Delinquency.” Youth & Society 84 – 111 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) hypothesis that girls and boys react differently to strain. Results show partial support for the influence of a strained living situation on drug offenders, drug recidivists, and case outcome. Support is found for the hypothesis that boys' and girls' experiences with strain differ.     

A Latent Variable Analysis of General Strain Theory

Strain theory has returned to the forefront of criminological theory and research, due primarily to the general strain model developed by Robert Agnew. Agnew posits that a broad range of negative social relations comprises strain and that these straining mechanisms lead to delinquent behavior and other maladaptive functioning. Moreover, strain has its strongest effect on delinquency when certain coping strategies are attenuated or when delinquent peers reinforce perceptions of strain. Although several studies have now shown the utility of general strain theory as an explanation of delinquency, they have relied mainly on cross-sectional effects or two-wave panel designs using methods that fail to consider measurement error or autocorrelated errors. In this study we extend these analyses by estimating a latent variable structural equation model that examines the effects of strain—operationalized as negative life events—on conventional attachment and delinquency over a 3-year period. Furthermore, we directly assess Agnew's coping strategies hypotheses by stratifying the models by self-efficacy, self-esteem, and peer delinquency. The results indicate that significant longitudinal effects of strain on delinquency emerge during year 3 but that these effects are not conditioned by self-efficacy or self-esteem. Changes in strain also affect changes in delinquency, but only among those who report no delinquent peers. We do find, however, that over the initial 2 years strain has a negative effect on delinquency among those high in self-efficacy, self-esteem, or delinquent peers. The findings are discussed in terms of Agnew's theory.     

Violent Conduct and Victimization Risk in the Urban Illicit Drug Economy: A Prospective Examination

A small but growing body of criminological research examines the nature of social control mechanisms in the context of urban illicit drug markets in order to understand patterns of violence. Several studies find that merchants operating in this economy experience relatively high rates of violent victimization. Existing theoretical and empirical research suggests, however, that an aggressive posture serves a deterrent function in the illicit marketplace. Merchants with a violent persona will have significantly lower rates of victimization compared to their less-violent counterparts. Using a within-person design applied to prospective longitudinal data from a sample of urban males, this paper examines the proposition that violent conduct attenuates the relationship between participation in the illicit drug marketplace and risk for violent victimization. Combined, the results offer partial support for this proposition. We discuss the implications of this study for research on violent behavior, illegal drug markets, and victimization.     

Self-Complexity and Crime: Extending General Strain Theory

General strain theory suggests that a number of conditioning factors affect who is more likely to respond to strain with crime. This study introduces a previously neglected conditioning variable from the social psychology literature, self-complexity (SC). SC refers to (1) the number of identities individuals perceive as important to themselves; and (2) the varied characteristics they ascribe to these identities. The central argument of this study is that those who are lower in SC, or those with fewer identities and more overlap among these identities, should be more susceptible to the negative emotional and behavioral effects of strain. This assertion was tested through a vignette study of undergraduates. Results indicate that those who are lower in SC are more likely to intend to assault another person and drink heavily than those who are higher in SC. The findings suggest that SC should be included among traditional conditioning variables explicated in GST.     

Negative Life Events and Maladaptive Behaviors Among Filipino Adolescents: an Empirical Test of the General Strain Theory

Agnew’s general strain theory has been widely tested in other countries and has received general support from most studies. To date, however, there has been limited empirical test of the theory in the Philippines. Thus, this study aims to test the core theoretical propositions of the theory that link negative life events (strains) to negative emotions that in turn encourage maladaptive behaviors or criminal coping. The study uses the Global School-based Student Health Survey (2011) data on a nationally representative sample of 5920 secondary Filipino students. In general, the results support the general strain theory: negative life events (e.g., violent experiences, discrimination, sexual harassment victimization) encourage maladaptive behaviors (i.e., suicidality, substance use, and truancy), and this link is somewhat mediated or attenuated by depression. Further, conditioning factors such as parental care and supervision, social support, and engagement in physical activities moderate the effects of negative life events and depression on maladaptive behaviors. Contrary to the theory, however, some conditioning factors intensify the effects of strain on truancy. Overall, the current findings support the theory but call for further research and theory building—delinquent acts are diverse behaviors, and thus, each may require a crime-specific model of the general strain theory.     

Gendered Responses to Serious Strain: The Argument for a General Strain Theory of Deviance

This paper expands and builds on newer avenues in research on gender and general strain theory (GST). I accomplish this by focusing on serious strains that are relevant for males and females, including externalizing and internalizing forms of negative emotions, and including multiple gendered deviant outcomes. Using the Add Health dataset, I find strong support for the impact of serious strains on both types of negative emotions and different forms of deviance for males and females. However, the experience of serious strain, emotionally and behaviorally, is gendered. Depressive symptoms are particularly important for all types of deviance by females. Including multiple types of deviant outcomes offers a fuller understanding of both similarities and differences by gender. These results support the utility of GST as a theory of deviance in general and support greater connections between GST, feminist theorizing, and the sociology of mental health.     

Applying the Theory of Reasoned Action to Domestic Violence Reporting Behavior: The Role of Sex and Victimization

Domestic violence is a serious social issue that affects one in every four relationships. Interventions for victims and abusers are contingent upon reporting of the violence, but many cases are never reported. The theory of reasoned action may offer a model for understanding reporting behavior in adolescents and young adults. In a sample of 891 adolescents and young adults, social norms and attitudes were predictive of reporting intentions and subsequently, reporting behavior. For the purposes of this study, reporting behavior was defined as reporting the domestic violence to any individual not directly involved, which could include law enforcement personnel or other individuals who may provide assistance. Understanding how attitudes and social norms affect reporting behavior could be helpful for agencies serving individuals affected by domestic violence.     

Gender Differences in Strain,Negative Emotions,and Coping Behaviors: A General Strain Theory Approach

This paper empirically evaluates Broidy and Agnew’s propositions, in which they apply general strain theory to explain gender differences in crime and deviance, by analyzing data from a national survey of adult African Americans. First, African American women were more likely to report strains related to physical health, interpersonal relations, gender roles in the family, and less likely to mention work‐related, racial as well as job strain than African American men. Second, African American women were less likely than African American men to turn to deviant coping strategies when they experienced strain partly because their strains were more likely to generate self‐directed emotions, such as depression and anxiety, which in turn were less likely to lead to deviant coping behaviors than other‐directed, angry emotion. Finally, it was found that the self‐directed emotions were more likely to result in nondeviant, legitimate coping behaviors than other‐directed emotion, anger.     

A Comparison of Victimization and Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence Among Drug Abusing Heterosexual and Lesbian Women

The study describes types and rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) reported by active drug using women enrolled in a street outreach HIV prevention research study located in Tucson, Arizona. IPV data were collected on 434 women at the baseline assessment who reported being in a current intimate partner relationship. The data collected included types of violence as well as rates of victimization and perpetration of IPV. Using profile analysis, we examined similarities and differences in patterns of incidence rates of both victimization and perpetration of IPV across different IPV behaviors experienced by heterosexual and lesbian women. Results indicate substantial rates of IPV among both heterosexual and lesbian women with both similarities and differences in IPV behaviors reported. Results suggest that type of relationship and type of IPV behavior are important factors in identifying and preventing IPV, and improving interventions aimed at addressing IPV.     

Seasonal Variation in Violent Victimization: Opportunity and the Annual Rhythm of the School Calendar

Objectives

This study draws on an underused source of data on seasonality—victim surveys—to assess whether violent crime occurs with greater frequency during summer months or whether it simply becomes known to police more often, and to examine the extent to which seasonal patterns in violent crime are differentiated based on victim characteristics and location of crime.

Methods

Data used come from the 1993–2008 National Crime Victimization Survey. Time series regression models are estimated to describe seasonal differences in violent crime victimization and reporting rates.

Results

Seasonal trends in youth violence stand in contrast to the trends for young and older adults, primarily due to their high risk of victimization at and near school. No evidence of seasonality is found in the extent to which serious violence becomes known to the police. However, simple assault is significantly more likely to come to the attention of the police during the summer months, primarily due to increases in the reporting of youth violence.

Conclusions

Our findings confirm some of the previous work on seasonal patterns in violent crime, but also show that these patterns vary across age groups, locations, and type of violence.     

General Strain Theory in Taiwan: A Latent Growth Curve Modeling Approach

Agnew’s general strain theory (GST) [Agnew R (2001) Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 38:319–361; Agnew R (2006a) Pressured Into Crime: An Overview of General Strain Theory. LA:Roxbury] has been the focus of considerable academic attention and has become an important criminological theory [Cullen et al. (2006) Taking Stock: The Status ofCriminological Theory. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction]. However, most previous empirical studies have employed Western samples (e.g., US sample) to test this theory, which hinders the generalizability of GST. Although some studies have used Eastern samples to evaluate GST, these studies are only cross-sectional, which makes drawing any causal relationship problematic, and a cross-sectional study cannot uncover the more dynamic relationship between strain, negative emotion, and delinquency. Furthermore, depression has become epidemic around the world [World Health Organization 2001, ) and many previous studies that test GST focus only on anger. This makes depression a crucial element in testing GST. The present study uses longitudinal data (Taiwan Youth Project) and a latent growth model (LGM) to investigate strain, depression, and delinquent acts among adolescents (12–15 years old). The results generally support GST propositions: both strain and depression increase delinquency, and depression mediates the strain–delinquency relationship. Some cultural-specific influences were also discovered.