Reconsidering strain theory: Operationalization,rival theories,and adult criminality |
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| Authors: | Burton Velmer S Cullen Francis T Evans T David Dunaway R Gregory |
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| Institution: | (1) Criminal Justice Program, Department of Political Science, Washington State University, 99164 Pullman, Washington;(2) Department of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, Mail Location 389, 45221-0389 Cincinnati, Ohio;(3) Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, 28403-3297 Wilmington, North Carolina;(4) Department of Sociology and Anthropology, P.O. Drawer C, Mississippi State University, 37962 Mississippi, Mississippi State |
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| Abstract: | Recently a revisionist view of strain theory's empirical adequacy has emerged which holds that the theory's explanatory power depends on how it is operationalized. With an adult community sample, we empirically assess three separate measures of strain to explain self-reported crime: the gap between aspirations and expectations, blocked opportunities, and relative deprivation. The findings reveal that the aspirations-expectations measure is not related to criminal involvement, while perceived blocked opportunities and feelings of relative deprivation significantly affect adult offending. These relationships, however, fail to persist after measures from competing theories (i.e., low self-control, differential association, and social bond) are introduced as controls in the regression equations. Thus, measures from rival theories offer a more fruitful approach to explaining self-reported adult offending.A version of this paper was presented at the 1993 American Society of Criminology meetings, Phoenix, Arizona. |
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| Keywords: | strain theory adult criminality self-control social bond differential association |
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