Nonlinear Strain Effects on Delinquent Behavior and Depressive Symptoms

• Published date: 01 March 2019
• Author: John P. Hoffmann
• Date: 01 March 2019
• DOI: 10.1177/0022427818800151
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Nonlinear Strain

Effects on Delinquent

Behavior and

Depressive Symptoms

John P. Hoffmann

1

Abstract

Objectives: Few studies have examined the pot ential nonlinear effects of

strain on offending and other outcomes, even though the initial develop-

ment of general strain theory (GST) recognized their feasibility. This study

was designed to investigate these nonlinear effects on delinquent behavior

and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential moderating effects of

family relations. Methods: Eight years of longitudinal data from the Family

Health Study (n¼840) were used to develop a multivariate multilevel

model that examined the nonlinear effects of strain—in the form of stressful

life events—on delinquent behavior and depressive symptoms. Results: The

empirical results suggested that strain has an exponential effect on the

delinquency when family relat ions are poor and a diminishing effect on

depressive symptoms when family rela tions are strong. Conclusions: Th e

findings of this study lend support to the argument that strain has nonlinear

effects on delinquency, crime, and depressive symptoms. This suggests that

research should consider nonlinear effects in more detail when assessing of

GST. Moreover, good family relations can serve to protect youth against

1

Department of Sociology, BYU, Provo, UT, USA

Corresponding Author:

John P. Hoffmann, Department of Sociology, BYU, 2008 JFSB, Provo, UT 84602, USA.

Email: john_hoffmann@byu.edu

Journal of Research in Crime and

Delinquency

2019, Vol. 56(2) 213-253

ªThe Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/0022427818800151

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the untoward effects of strain and thus may provide a practical focus for

intervention efforts.

Keywords

nonlinear strain, delinquent behavior, young adult crime, depressive

symptoms

Interest in the effects of strain and stress on the lives of adolescents and

young adults has produced a substantial literature in criminology, sociol-

ogy, and social psychology (Agnew 2015; Carr and Umberson 2013; Whea-

ton et al. 2013). In particular, Agnew’s (1992) general strain theory (GST)

has motivated a considerable amount of research on how certain external

conditions place pressure on individuals so they are at risk of criminal,

delinquent, and externalized behaviors. Similarly, social psychological the-

ories of the stress process have described how negative experiences can lead

to problems such as depression and anxiety (Pearlin and Bierman 2013).

Although these theories and the studies they motivated have led to several

key observations about individual states and actions, an issue that has not

been unexplored adequately is the form of the relationship between strain

and its behavioral consequences. For exa mple, most criminological and

social psychological studies assume that the association between strain and

delinquent behavior or depression is linear: It is invariable whether external

strain or stressors are below or above a certain threshold. Yet, as argued

later, important conceptual and empirical evidence demonstrates the exis-

tence of nonlinear associations that should be explored. Without such a

pointed investigation, a large corpus of research may have missed a vital

feature—or even reached erroneous conclusions—about how stress and

strain affect delinquency and other untoward outcomes.

The goal of this study was to carefully explore some nonlinear strain

associations. Ba sed on Agnew’s continued development of GST, recent

mental health research, and studies of stress and strain from several fields,

I posited that strain, in the form of stressful life events, affects both delin-

quency and depressive symptoms in a nonlinear fashion, but the patterns

depend, in part, on an important source of social support: family relation-

ships. A multivariate multilevelmodel that utilized eight years of longitudinal

data was employedto examine this proposition. Theresults demonstrated that

strain’s effects are nonlinear, with a steeper gradient on delinquency when

214 Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 56(2)

family relationsare poor, and a diminished effecton depression when family

relations are strong.

Background

In the last three or four decades, research on the effects of strain, stress, and

negative life events has produced hundreds of studies in criminology,

sociology, and psychology. In criminological research, most of the impetus

behind this interest has been due to Agnew’s GST. In a widely cited article

that offered a substantial elaboration of traditional strain theories, Agnew

(1992) proposed that strain is manifest in several ways including the inabil-

ity to achieve positively valued goals, the removal of pos itively valued

stimuli, and the presence of negatively valued stimuli. He also argued that

the effect of strain is particularly acute among adolescents since they are

more likely than children to comprehend the sources and likely conse-

quences of stressful events, and compared to adults, they tend to have

relatively few resources to escape the source of the strain. This argument

parallels the stress-reactivity model, which submits that adolescence is a

period of heightened reactivity because of the many hormonal and psycho-

social changes that occur (Romeo 2010). As youth undergo more stressful

experiences, there is a heightened likelihood of problems such as depression

and anxiety (Carr and Umberson 2013).

Importantly, Agnew posited that strain is channeled toward delinquency

primarily when it leads to certain emotions, such as anger, but that its effects

are conditioned by factors such as social support. However, studies have

been mixed regarding the role of anger, with some showing little evidence

that anger mediates the association between strain and delinquency (e.g.,

Aseltine, Gore, and Gordon 2000; Ti ttle, Broidy, and Gertz 2008), an d

others finding support for this pathway (e.g., Jang and Rhodes 2012; Rebel-

lon et al. 2012). Similarly, tests of conditional effects have been inconsis-

tent, with some demonstrating that myriad intra- and interpersonal factors

have little effect on the association between strain and delinquency (e.g.,

Botchkovar, Tittle, and Antonaccio 2013; Eitle 2010; Tittle et al. 2008), and

others finding that strain tends to affect delinquency in the prese nce of

delinquent peers, low self-esteem or self-efficacy, or inadequate social

support (e.g., Lin, Cochran, and Mieczkowski 2011; for review of this

literature, see Agnew 2015).

In a similar vein, researchers in sociology and social psychology have

proposed that strain—in particular, stressful life eve nts—affects various

internalizing and externalizing outcomes. Perhaps the most prominent

Hoffmann 215