Abstract
Since its introduction in 1992, Agnew’s general strain theory (GST) has been a leading micro-level theory of crime. General strain theory posits people experience strains which lead to negative emotions, especially anger and depression, and increase the likelihood of crime and delinquency. A large body of scholarship has tested GST’s propositions with general samples as well as specialized samples by gender, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, and even occupation from numerous data sources and employing various analytical techniques. Yet, GST’s overall empirical status as a complete theoretical framework remains unknown. Meta-analysis is an objective, quantitative strategy of synthesizing existing research to determine the overall value of a theory, even if extant findings are inconsistent. Employing meta-analytical techniques, we assess the empirical status of GST with an analysis of all studies surrounding Agnew’s theory between 1992 and the present. Characteristics of these studies, including variations in methodologies and measures as well as effect size, are coded and assessed to determine to overall explanatory power of GST.
| Original language | American English |
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| State | Published - Nov 19 2015 |
| Event | Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology - Washington, DC Duration: Nov 19 2015 → … |
Conference
| Conference | Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology |
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| Period | 11/19/15 → … |
Disciplines
- Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Criminology
Keywords
- Criminology
- GST
- General strain theory
