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General Strain Theory

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Preventing Crime and Violence

Part of the book series: Advances in Prevention Science ((Adv. Prevention Science))

Abstract

Crime prevention programs are successful to the extent that they effectively address the major causes of crime (Agnew and Brezina in Juvenile delinquency: causes and control. Oxford University Press, New York, 2012). General strain theory (GST) identifies many of these causes, including criminogenic strains or stressors and the factors that increase the likelihood that individuals will cope with these strains through crime. Most of the causes described by GST are addressed in existing crime prevention programs, although GST suggests certain new strategies for preventing crime. This chapter provides an overview of GST and then describes the implications of GST for crime prevention, taking note of existing programs that are compatible with GST and suggesting new programs.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Emory University, 1555 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Robert Agnew

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  1. Robert Agnew
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Correspondence to Robert Agnew .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Brent Teasdale

  2. Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

    Mindy S. Bradley

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Agnew, R. (2017). General Strain Theory. In: Teasdale, B., Bradley, M. (eds) Preventing Crime and Violence. Advances in Prevention Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44124-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44124-5_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44122-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-44124-5

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