Abstract
The development of general strain theory (GST) has led to a renewed focus on the influence of negative life experiences on antisocial behavior. Although a number of studies have generated an impressive array of support for the theory, several avenues remain open for research. In this article, we examine how a specific noxious stimuli, peer rejection, relates to delinquency/crime, and the degree of shared relation among peer rejection and delinquency/crime. Using data from a national sample of 413 children and adolescents, analyses indicated two highly stable trajectories of peer rejection and three trajectories of delinquency/crime, that peer rejection and delinquency/crime were not strongly related in general, but a joint analysis of their relationship revealed that high peer rejection was related to high delinquency/crime among males but not among females. Implications and directions for future research are highlighted.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1272-1297 |
| Number of pages | 26 |
| Journal | Youth and Society |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- crime
- delinquency
- general strain theory
- peer rejection
- trajectories
