Robert Agnew's General Strain Theory

General Strain Theory Crime and deviancy is a reoccurring dysfunction of society and criminologist have been trying to understand why certain people defy the social norms and laws for decades. Criminologist are important for society because they directly impact how legislators create laws and policies. There have been many criminologist like William Sheldon, Robert Merton, and Charles Galton and each crafting their own theories on why people have act a particular way. This paper will focus on Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST). Agnew’s theory focuses on the individual and his/her environmental influences (Agnew, 1992). Agnew believes there are three major types of strain/stresses which may result in criminality or delinquent behavior; …show more content…
Within this strain there are there are three other stressors that create an outcome of failure: 1. “there is a disjunction between aspirations and expectations, and what an individual actually achieves” (Agnew, 1992 page 52). 2. “There is a disjunction between what an individual expectations to achieve and what they actually achieve” (Agnew, 1992 page 52). Most individual’s set their expectations in either the comparison to others around them or to their own previous experiences. If the individual fails to meet his/her expectations they may react in anger or frustration (Agnew, 1992). The individual’s anger or frustration adds to the will to achieve their expectation and may result in criminality in order to achieve their goal. 3.”There is a disjunction between just/fair outcomes and actual outcomes” (Agnew 1992 page 53). If an individual puts in effort towards a goal and the reward is worth less than the amount of effort put in, than an individual may feel cheated. The results may include criminal/delinquent behavior in order to receive an equal reward to compensate for the initial lower reward. The inability to achieve desired goals can result in an individual acting aggressively and possibly in criminal