Robert Agnew is Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Emory University. His research focuses on the causes of crime, particularly his general strain theory of delinquency. His has published over 150 articles/chapters and seven books.
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 2006
Researchers usually explain individual offending in terms of background factors like low self-con... more Researchers usually explain individual offending in terms of background factors like low self-control and association with delinquent peers. Such factors reflect the routine or typical aspects of the individual's life over an extended period of time and they influence the individual's predisposition for crime. Researchers also sometimes explain offending in terms of situational factors, which reflect the features of the situation immediately before a crime occurs and influence the commission of crime in that situation. But that temporal level between background and situational factors is largely ignored. The author refers to this level as “storylines.” Storylines begin with some event that is out of the ordinary, and this event temporarily alters the individual's characteristics, interactions, and/or settings for interaction inways that increase the likelihood of crime. This article draws on the qualitative research on crime and the leading crime theories to identify the...
682 CLASSIC STRAIN THEORY criminology during the 1950s and 1960s, and had a major impact on publi... more 682 CLASSIC STRAIN THEORY criminology during the 1950s and 1960s, and had a major impact on public policy (see Agnew 1995a; Burton and Cullen 1992). Much quantitative research, however, suggests that this theory is wrong. Empirical tests of the theory usually focus on ...
This article develops and tests a model that seeks to explain individual variation in the approva... more This article develops and tests a model that seeks to explain individual variation in the approval of suicide. The model draws on the three leading theories of crime/deviance: strain, social learning, and social control theories. It is predicted that individuals will be most approving of suicide when (1) they have had major life problems that could not be solved through conventional channels, (2) they were taught or exposed to beliefs that favored or were conducive to suicide, and (3) they are not strongly attached or committed to conventional individuals and groups. These predictions are explored with data from the 1990 and 1991 General Social Surveys, based on a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. The results provide partial support for the predictions, especially the second prediction, with the strongest correlates of suicide approval being education, political liberalism, and a set of religion variables.
... Spivak, H. and Prothrow-Stith, D. 2001. ... View all references). It is possible that bullyin... more ... Spivak, H. and Prothrow-Stith, D. 2001. ... View all references). It is possible that bullying victims at school are less likely to cope through more aggressive forms of delinquency but instead turn to delinquent acts that are more internalizing. Given that Merton (1938)38. ...
... was associated with occupationally related delinquencies such as employee theft and getting h... more ... was associated with occupationally related delinquencies such as employee theft and getting high on ... and conflict factors identified as stressful by previous research-ers (see, eg, Cullen, Link, Wolfe ... point scale, with the following items: "I am under pressure to get things done"; "I ...
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 1993
According to social control theory, adolescents low in attachment, commitment, and belief are mor... more According to social control theory, adolescents low in attachment, commitment, and belief are more likely to engage in delinquency because they are free to satisfy universal human needs in the most expedient manner—which is often delinquency. This account of intervening processes has been challenged by strain and differential association/social learning theory. Among other things, it has been argued that (a) these social control variables also cause delinquency because they lead to strain and association with delinquent peers: and (b) the motivation for delinquency is variable, and these control variables only lead to delinquency among suitably motivated individuals, that is, individuals who are strained or who associate with delinquent peers. Data from the Youth in Transition Survey and the National Youth Survey provide support for these challenges.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 2008
Since 1992, General Strain Theory (GST) has earned strong empirical support and has been applied ... more Since 1992, General Strain Theory (GST) has earned strong empirical support and has been applied to several key correlates of crime (e.g., age, sex, community), but researchers have yet to fully consider how GST may aid in explaining racial differences in offending. While most explanations focus on macro level and macro-micro control processes, we argue that GST complements these explanations by highlighting the emotional and motivational social psychological processes that underlie criminal behaviour, thereby filling an important theoretical gap. In particular, we argue that African-Americans are likely to experience more and qualitatively unique types of strain compared to Whites, and that these strains in turn lead to higher levels of negative emotions among African-Americans. Further, we argue that the unique social conditions in which many African-Americans live may disproportionately lead them to cope with strain and negative emotions through crime. We believe these theoretica...
Recent longitudinal research suggests that cross-sectional studies have exaggerated the importanc... more Recent longitudinal research suggests that cross-sectional studies have exaggerated the importance of Hirschi's social control theory. This longitudinal research, however, suffers from one or more of the following problems: (a) measures of questionable validity and/or reliability; (b) misspecified causal models, including models that omit important variables and fail to examine the reciprocal and contemporaneous effects between variables; and (c) the failure to consider certain methodological problems peculiar to panel analysis, such as autocorrelation. Most of these problems reduce the likelihood of finding a causal effect from social control to delinquency, and so make the findings of the longitudinal studies suspect. This article uses data from the first two waves of the National Youth Survey to overcome these problems, and provide a more accurate estimate of the effect of social control on delinquency.
This study applies Agnew's general strain theory (GST) to two fundamental questions a... more This study applies Agnew's general strain theory (GST) to two fundamental questions about gender and crime: (1) How can we explain the higher rate of crime among males? (2) How can we explain why females engage in crime? With respect to the first question, the authors suggest that gender differences in types of strain and the reaction to strain help one understand the gender gap in criminal behavior. With respect to the second question, it is argued that several types of strain may lead to female crime under the proper circumstances. In this area, GST has much in common with numerous accounts that explain female crime in terms of oppression.
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 2006
Researchers usually explain individual offending in terms of background factors like low self-con... more Researchers usually explain individual offending in terms of background factors like low self-control and association with delinquent peers. Such factors reflect the routine or typical aspects of the individual's life over an extended period of time and they influence the individual's predisposition for crime. Researchers also sometimes explain offending in terms of situational factors, which reflect the features of the situation immediately before a crime occurs and influence the commission of crime in that situation. But that temporal level between background and situational factors is largely ignored. The author refers to this level as “storylines.” Storylines begin with some event that is out of the ordinary, and this event temporarily alters the individual's characteristics, interactions, and/or settings for interaction inways that increase the likelihood of crime. This article draws on the qualitative research on crime and the leading crime theories to identify the...
682 CLASSIC STRAIN THEORY criminology during the 1950s and 1960s, and had a major impact on publi... more 682 CLASSIC STRAIN THEORY criminology during the 1950s and 1960s, and had a major impact on public policy (see Agnew 1995a; Burton and Cullen 1992). Much quantitative research, however, suggests that this theory is wrong. Empirical tests of the theory usually focus on ...
This article develops and tests a model that seeks to explain individual variation in the approva... more This article develops and tests a model that seeks to explain individual variation in the approval of suicide. The model draws on the three leading theories of crime/deviance: strain, social learning, and social control theories. It is predicted that individuals will be most approving of suicide when (1) they have had major life problems that could not be solved through conventional channels, (2) they were taught or exposed to beliefs that favored or were conducive to suicide, and (3) they are not strongly attached or committed to conventional individuals and groups. These predictions are explored with data from the 1990 and 1991 General Social Surveys, based on a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. The results provide partial support for the predictions, especially the second prediction, with the strongest correlates of suicide approval being education, political liberalism, and a set of religion variables.
... Spivak, H. and Prothrow-Stith, D. 2001. ... View all references). It is possible that bullyin... more ... Spivak, H. and Prothrow-Stith, D. 2001. ... View all references). It is possible that bullying victims at school are less likely to cope through more aggressive forms of delinquency but instead turn to delinquent acts that are more internalizing. Given that Merton (1938)38. ...
... was associated with occupationally related delinquencies such as employee theft and getting h... more ... was associated with occupationally related delinquencies such as employee theft and getting high on ... and conflict factors identified as stressful by previous research-ers (see, eg, Cullen, Link, Wolfe ... point scale, with the following items: "I am under pressure to get things done"; "I ...
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 1993
According to social control theory, adolescents low in attachment, commitment, and belief are mor... more According to social control theory, adolescents low in attachment, commitment, and belief are more likely to engage in delinquency because they are free to satisfy universal human needs in the most expedient manner—which is often delinquency. This account of intervening processes has been challenged by strain and differential association/social learning theory. Among other things, it has been argued that (a) these social control variables also cause delinquency because they lead to strain and association with delinquent peers: and (b) the motivation for delinquency is variable, and these control variables only lead to delinquency among suitably motivated individuals, that is, individuals who are strained or who associate with delinquent peers. Data from the Youth in Transition Survey and the National Youth Survey provide support for these challenges.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 2008
Since 1992, General Strain Theory (GST) has earned strong empirical support and has been applied ... more Since 1992, General Strain Theory (GST) has earned strong empirical support and has been applied to several key correlates of crime (e.g., age, sex, community), but researchers have yet to fully consider how GST may aid in explaining racial differences in offending. While most explanations focus on macro level and macro-micro control processes, we argue that GST complements these explanations by highlighting the emotional and motivational social psychological processes that underlie criminal behaviour, thereby filling an important theoretical gap. In particular, we argue that African-Americans are likely to experience more and qualitatively unique types of strain compared to Whites, and that these strains in turn lead to higher levels of negative emotions among African-Americans. Further, we argue that the unique social conditions in which many African-Americans live may disproportionately lead them to cope with strain and negative emotions through crime. We believe these theoretica...
Recent longitudinal research suggests that cross-sectional studies have exaggerated the importanc... more Recent longitudinal research suggests that cross-sectional studies have exaggerated the importance of Hirschi's social control theory. This longitudinal research, however, suffers from one or more of the following problems: (a) measures of questionable validity and/or reliability; (b) misspecified causal models, including models that omit important variables and fail to examine the reciprocal and contemporaneous effects between variables; and (c) the failure to consider certain methodological problems peculiar to panel analysis, such as autocorrelation. Most of these problems reduce the likelihood of finding a causal effect from social control to delinquency, and so make the findings of the longitudinal studies suspect. This article uses data from the first two waves of the National Youth Survey to overcome these problems, and provide a more accurate estimate of the effect of social control on delinquency.
This study applies Agnew's general strain theory (GST) to two fundamental questions a... more This study applies Agnew's general strain theory (GST) to two fundamental questions about gender and crime: (1) How can we explain the higher rate of crime among males? (2) How can we explain why females engage in crime? With respect to the first question, the authors suggest that gender differences in types of strain and the reaction to strain help one understand the gender gap in criminal behavior. With respect to the second question, it is argued that several types of strain may lead to female crime under the proper circumstances. In this area, GST has much in common with numerous accounts that explain female crime in terms of oppression.
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Papers by robert agnew