Testing Agnew’s General Strain Theory Among Incarcerated Women in the Republic of North Macedonia

Abstract

AbstractWhat is the purpose of our study? Being written on a social–psychological level, general strain theory (GST) has been tested among adolescent populations. However, what has been very rarely analysed is the response to strain by different types of offenders and diverse populations. This study is even more valuable if we mention that until the beginning of our research, GST or any other criminological theory had not been tested on any population in the Republic of North Macedonia. Why study an incarcerated population? This population has neglected needs, inhumane living conditions, overcrowded penitentiary institutions, high levels of recidivism and poor use of alternative measures. The experience of incarcerated women is generally less known compared with those of incarcerated men; they have a low level of participation in the total number of crimes in the country, and there is a lack of criminological research on female criminality in general. The data collected focused on the influence of strain and negative emotions on the level of criminality. The results should help us to answer whether strain leads to negative emotions; then does strain influence female criminality and its level; and do negative emotions intermediate in between strain and the level of criminality?