General Strain Theory

General Strain

Early revisions of the strain perspective often conceptualized the major source of strain as an individual's failure to achieve positively held goals. These goals were most popularly defined by financial [Page 303]gains, as well as attaining a certain level of respect or status among one's peers. Several fundamental features of Agnew's general strain theory make the model unique when contrasted with the other revisions. For example, Agnew approaches the theory from a predominantly social psychological perspective (i.e., microlevel) and assesses the dynamics of individual processes that may contribute to strain. Perhaps even more important, Agnew's theory broadened the concept of strain to include three different sources of deviance-producing strains. These are (1) the failure to achieve one's positively valued goals, (2) the removal of positively valued stimuli from one's life, and (3) the confrontation with an individual with negatively valued stimuli. Central to Agnew's theory is an examination of the types of strains that are most strongly associated with crime and deviance, and what are the individual-level factors that are most likely to trigger responses to such strains. The theory is largely based on its emphasis on negative relationships with others and how these may trigger deviant and criminal reactions. The following section elaborates on the theory's three main sources of deviance-producing strains.

The Three Types of Deviance-Producing Strains

According to general strain theory, failure to achieve positively valued goals is the first source of deviance-producing strain. Agnew listed several subtypes of this type of deviance-producing strain. In the first subtype, the theory describes the traditional definition of strain that is the outcome of a discrepancy between goals and means. This discrepancy refers to the frustrations that emerge when a person's means to achieve his or her desired goals are blocked. In addition, Agnew also included not only frustrations that are due to blocked opportunities but also strains that are due to the person's shortcomings and other inabilities. In the second subtype, Agnew looks at the difference between a person's expectations and his or her actual accomplishments. In particular, the second subtype considers the extent to which such differences may contribute to disappointment, anger, and resentment. The third subtype is an outcome of a gap between a given person's perceptions of fairness in the balance between his or her efforts and the actual outcome. This gap refers to the notion that the positive consequences of a given effort or relationship may not be perceived as fair when compared with the efforts and outcomes of others. The first main source of strain is posited to have a direct relationship with the individual's likelihood of being involved in crime or deviance. Simply put, failing to attain one's desired goals through one of the three listed ways (subtypes) is expected to increase his or her chances of engaging in criminal or deviant behavior. As such, those who failed to achieve their goals are more likely to be strained by not achieving and, thereby, react in a criminal or deviant manner when compared with those who achieved and are thus not similarly strained.

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