23 Jul Critical Summary/Essay on General Strain Theory
Review the following two seminal extensions to General Strain Theory: (1) Agnew, Robert. 2001. “Building on the Foundation of General Strain Theory: Specifying the Types of Strain Most Likely to Lead to Delinquency”; and (2) Johnson, Matthew C., and Robert G. Morris. 2008. “The Moderating Effects of Religiosity on the Relationship between Stressful Life Events and Delinquent Behavior”. While students are expected to summarize the central focus and findings/conclusions of each article, I would also like students to take a more general approach in locating these pieces in the etiology/evolution of strain theory in general, and GST.
In other words, how does this empirical scholarship advance theorizing in the strain tradition (e.g., the identification of sources of strain that are most “criminogenic”, new forms of conditioning/moderating effects, etc.)? In their essay, I expect students to relate the findings of these studies to previous studies in the GST literature (those that were covered in class, obviously). Lastly, I would like students to offer their assessment (no more than 1 paragraph) of General Strain Theory. While it may appear that I am giving you some very broad parameters in which to operate, I wish to keep the focus of this assignment somewhat open-ended and general; allowing students the autonomy necessary to express their understanding of this essential paradigm in criminology.
Format:
The assignment should be approximately three pages. As a general guideline, approximately ½-2/3 of the assignment should pertain to the critical summary of the two articles, with the remaining ½-1/3 focusing on the position of these studies within the GST paradigm.
Assignments MUST be typed, double-spaced, with 1” margins throughout the document
