1. Rule-Violating Behavior Rule-Violating Behavior
General Strain and Depression in Predicting Juvenile Rule Violating Behaviors
and the Mediating Effects of Police Legitimacy and Stressful Life Events Tessa Smith & Chad Roberge Advisors: Ellen S. Cohn, Ph.D. & Alexander Blandina, M.A.
Introduction
Hypotheses
Discussion
General Strain Theory (GST)1,5,9 argues perceptions of injustice leads to Rule Violating Behavior (RVB)
Depression7,9 is positively correlated with RVB
Relationship strain - Variable scale generated to assess GST
Depression symptomatology is identified by overall negative emotions3
Rule violating behaviors (RVB) - Any antisocial behavior including delinquent acts
However, potential variables may mediate both correlated relations towards RVB
Police legitimacy - positive or negative perception of law enforcement and its right to exercise authority over them
Depression predicts negative evaluations of surrounding environments (i.e., police interactions, others’ intentions, etc.)3
GST focuses on adolescents’ perception of parents, teachers, and peers1
Perceptions of police not considered
Positive attitudes towards law enforcement correlate negatively with RVB6
Stressful Life Events
GST theorizes a positive relation with Stressful Life Events1
Stressful life events increase the likelihood that an adolescent will engage in RVB2,4
Increased depression relates to increased stress sensitivity8
The first hypothesis that police legitimacy and stressful life events would mediate the relation between Relationship Strain and RVB was supported.
Police legitimacy and life stressors fully mediate between Relationship Strain and RVB
The second hypothesis that police legitimacy and stressful life events would mediate the relation between depression and RVB was supported
Police legitimacy and life stressors fully mediate between depression and RVB
Implications
While previous studies found a link between GST and RVB1,5,9, more specific elements within the general term of strain mediate this relation
To properly identify youth committing RVB and to explain cause, such factors need to be identified and explored
Law enforcement should seek to form good relationships with their community, and increase police legitimacy
Police should consider the publics’ perception of them, as well as emotional disorders, when interacting with youth
Limitations and Future Directions
Data collected was from only one wave in the NHYS (New Hampshire Youth Survey) which limits the quantity of data
Data should be collected from multiple waves of the same participants to identify patterns over time
Data was cross-sectional; it would be important to replicate this with longitudinal data
Other mental disorders were not examined
Other mental disorders should be compared to general strain to see if they have similar results
Only one variable used to measure GST, others should be used in future research
Hypothesis 1: The relationship between relationship strain and rule violating behaviors will be mediated by police legitimacy and stressful life events.
Hypothesis 2: The relationship between depression and rule violating behaviors will be mediated by police legitimacy and stressful life events.
Results
Standardized Beta Coefficients
Relationship Strain
Police Legitimacy
Life Stressors
Rule-Violating Behavior
-.26***
-.24***
.34***
.41***
.08
(.28***)
Method
Participants
501 participants (42.9% male, 57.1% female)
74.9% Caucasian , 4.8% Hispanic
M age= 13.9
Subjects gathered as part of an ongoing longitudinal study examining different factors believed to influence adolescent delinquency
Measures
Relationship Strain (M= 1.83, SD= .84)
“People often break their promises to me.” (6 point Likert scale, 0= Disagree strongly, 4= Agree strongly)
Depression (M= 1.09, SD=.43)
CES-D scale. “In the past 30 days… I felt sad.” (6 point Likert scale, 0= Not at all, 4= Almost all the time)
Inter-rater reliability: r= .597, p <
Police Legitimacy (M= 2.81, SD= .44)
“The police in your neighborhood are generally honest.” (6 point Likert scale, 0= Disagree strongly, 4= Agree strongly)
Stressful Life Events (M=.19, SD= .13)
“In the past 6 months… did you drop out of school?” (Yes or no)
RVB (M= 2.99, SD= 3.72)
“In the past six months have you…gotten drunk?”
Procedure
Data gathered by mass survey sessions in 8 middle and 5 high schools in 4 NH communities
Participants given $10 gift card as compensation
R² = .30, F(3, 501)=70.30, p >.001
Depression
Police Legitimacy
Life Stressors
Rule-Violating Behavior
-.12**
.47***
-.25***
.40***
.08
(.29***)
References
1 Agnew, R. (1992). Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology, 30(1), doi: /j tb01093.x
2 Aseltine, R. H. J., Gore, S., & Gordon, J. (2000). Life stress, anger and anxiety, and delinquency: An empirical test of general strain theory. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41(3), doi: /
3 Gotlib, I. H. (1992). Interpersonal and cognitive aspects of depression. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1(5), Retrieved from
4 Hoffmann, J. P. (2010). A life-course perspective on stress, delinquency, and young adult crime. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 35(3), doi: /s
5 Hollist, D. R., Hughes, L. A., & Schaible, L. M. (2009). Adolescent maltreatment, negative emotion, and delinquency: An assessment of general strain theory and family-based strain. Journal of Criminal Justice, 37(4), d oi:
6 Levy, K. S. C. (2001). The relationship between adolescent attitudes toward authority, self-concept, and delinquency. Adolescence, 36(142), Retrieved from &site=ehost-live
7 Lincoln, T., Köther, U., Hartmann, M., Kempkensteffen, J., & Moritz, S. (2014). Responses to stress in patients with psychotic disorders compared to persons with varying levels of vulnerability to psychosis, persons with depression and healthy controls. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 47,
8 Mallett, C. A., Stoddard Dare, P., & Seck, M. M. (2009). Predicting juvenile delinquency: The nexus of childhood maltreatment, depression and bipolar disorder. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 19(4), doi: /cbm.737
9 Peck, J. H. (2013). Examining race and ethnicity in the context of general strain theory, depression, and delinquency. Deviant Behavior, 34(9), doi: /
10 Radloff, L. (1977). "The CES-D Scale: A Self Report Depression Scale for Research in the General." Applied psychological measurement 1(3):
*p ≤ .05
**p ≤ .01
*** p ≤ .001
R² = .30, F(3, 497)=69.41, p >.001
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