When Criminal Coping is Likely: An Extension of General Strain Theory

Moving Beyond Anger and Depression: The Effects of Anxiety and Envy on Maladaptive Coping

“…People usually cope with their negative emotions in legitimate ways, but experiencing certain negative emotions may cause people to be more likely to cope with deviant or criminal behavior (Agnew, 1992(Agnew, , 2001(Agnew, , 2007. The processes leading to maladaptive coping are complex due to the many different types of strains people may experience, their subjective interpretation of the events, and several conditioning variables such as personal characteristics and contextual circumstances (Agnew, 2013). Agnew (1992) argued that strains could be categorized into three main types of strain.…”

“…He also posited that while some situations would be strenuous for most people (and thus considered objective strains), it is also important to consider people's personal experience in the situation. The level of strain experienced is very unique to individuals experiencing different strains given their specific situation and personality (Agnew, 2001(Agnew, , 2006a(Agnew, , 2013. Figure 1 summarizes the theoretical framework of GST.…”

“…Not only has anger been found to be correlated with the three basic types of strain (Agnew, 2006;Broidy, 2001), but further research has also identified specific strains that may be more conducive to crime. Such strains include parental rejection, familial conflict, and criminal victimization and discrimination (Agnew, 2013;Aseltine et al, 2000;Jang, 2007;Moon et al, 2009a;Moon et al, 2009b;). The majority of coping measures predicted by anger are violent and aggressive actions (Aseltine et al, 2000, Mazerolle & Piquero, 1997Piquero & Sealock, 2000.…”

“…These activities were abandoned as levels of depression increased, and methods such as seeking professional help and drinking took their place (Jorm et al, 2004). Agnew (2013) suggests that deviance may be considered a viable coping option to some people as a method to alleviate these internalizing emotions when non-deviant behaviors fall short in alleviating their depression.…”

“…Instead of aggressive and violent actions toward others, depression and anxiety have been assumed to cause individuals to act in ways that are self-harming (Agnew, 2006a;Broidy & Agnew, 1997). Some of these expected actions include eating disorders, suicidal behavior, and drug and alcohol use (Agnew, 2006a(Agnew, , 2013Broidy & Agnew, 1997). For the most part, negative emotions other than anger have been combined to form one single variable.…”