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Life Strain, Negative Emotions, and Delinquency: An Empirical Test of General Strain Theory in the People’s Republic of China

Department of Sociology Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis Cavanaugh Hall 303 425 North University Boulevard Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5140 USA

Ain Haas

Department of Sociology Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis Cavanaugh Hall 303 425 North University Boulevard Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5140 USA

Yijun Pi

Chinese Society of Criminology China University of Politics and Law No 25, Xitucheng Street Haidian District, Beijing, 100088 People’ Republic of China

Using a sample of 615 middle school and high school students from both rural and urban areas of the People’s Republic of China, this study tests the central hypotheses concerning the mediating model in Agnew’s general strain theory. The analyses focus on the intervening mechanisms of negative emotions such as anger, resentment, anxiety, and depression that connect exposure to interpersonal strain with delinquent outcomes, including both serious delinquency and minor offenses. The results show that anger mediates the effect of interpersonal strain on violence, resentment mediates the effect of interpersonal strain on nonviolent delinquency, and anxiety and depression have a mediating effect on the relationships between interpersonal strain and minor offenses. The findings are generally consistent with the results of earlier studies in the United States.

Key Words: strain theory • delinquency • Chinese adolescents

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Vol. 48, No. 3, 281-297 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0306624X03258686


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