Citation

Chamayou JL. Psychol. Francaise 2012; 57(4): 291-303.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Société française de psychologie)

DOI

10.1016/j.psfr.2012.09.001

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Agnew (1992, 2002, 2009) developed the general strain theory, considering the aggressive, deviant, delinquent phenomena as belonging to several individual and environmental factors. This model draws on theories of Merton (1938), Cohen (1955), and Cloward & Ohlin (1960), while it is also linked to the literature on stress. Thus, the forms of crime that may arise would be the result of the individual perception from the environment considered as dangerous, painful and harmful. This environment affects and promotes deviant emotions such as anger or fear, from which crime would be an adaptive response. Similarly, internal and external factors, such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, intelligence, social support, moral beliefs, previous criminal activities and association with delinquent peers can be considered as relational conditions between strains and delinquency. The elements that characterize the strains are the denial of positive goals, the removal of positive stimuli and the presentation of negative stimuli. These factors would, in fact, describe and explain the deviant behavior among offenders and can be applied to a wide range of people. In a similar vein, the model of Blevins, Listwan, Cullen, & Jonson (2010) updates Agnew's general strain theory to apply it to prisoners, according to the principles of adaptation and emotional regulation to explain violent behavior in prison. This model draws on theories related to the importation, deprivation and social control models, which are inherent to the prison life. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS on behalf of Societe francaise de psychologie. KW: Juvenile justice; Juvenile delinquency;