Date of Award
12-1-2010
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Administration of Justice
First Advisor
Kempf-Leonard, Kimberly
Abstract
This study is a partial test of Robert Agnew's (2006) 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 that living situation produces on drug offenders, drug recidivists, and juvenile court case outcome controlling for race, abuse, sex, and mental health problems. Gender-specific analysis is used to test Agnew and Broidy's (2001) hypothesis that girls and boys react differently to strain. Results show partial support for the influence of strained living situation on drug offenders, drug recidivists, and case outcome. Support was found for the hypothesis that boys and girls experiences with strain differs.
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