ADAPTING TO STRAIN: AN EXAMINATION OF DELINQUENT COPING RESPONSES*

Abstract

Strain theories have conceptualized delinquency as a form of adaptive, problem‐solving behavior, usually committed in response to problems involving frustrating and undesirable social environments. The most recent version of strain theory, Agnew's general strain theory, provides the most complete formulation of this argument by suggesting that delinquent behavior enables adolescents to cope with the socioemotional problems generated by negative social relations. To date, however, the actual coping effectiveness of delinquency remains unexamined. This study explores the ways that delinquency may enable adolescents to cope with strain, and it uses national survey data to test the coping effectiveness of delinquent behavior. The findings indicate that delinquency enables adolescents to minimize the negative emotional consequences of strain, and they provide empirical support for the interpretation of delinquency as an adaptive response to aversive environments. Implications for criminological theory are discussed.