Repeated Strains, Social Control, Social Learning, and Delinquency

Abstract

In Agnew’s general strain theory, repeated strains can generate crime and delinquency by reducing social control and fostering social learning of crime. Using a sample of 615 middle- and high-school students in China, this study examines how social control and social learning variables mediate the effect of repeated strains in school and at home on delinquency. The findings from an integrated model support Agnew’s mediating argument in a non-Western society. Repeated negative treatment by teachers promotes delinquent behavior both through weakened conventional bonds and beliefs and through heightened association with delinquent peers. Repeated negative treatment by parents affects delinquency only through weakened conventional bonds. The prominent role of school experiences in the lives of Chinese adolescents is discussed.