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How General is General Strain Theory? Assessing Determinacy and Indeterminacy across Life Domains

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Title: How General is General Strain Theory? Assessing Determinacy and Indeterminacy across Life Domains
Language: English
Authors: De Coster, Stacy, Kort-Butler, Lisa
Source: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. 2006 43(4):297-325.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 29
Publication Date: 2006
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Descriptors: Stress Variables, Context Effect, Delinquency, Predictor Variables, Social Influences, Aggression, Middle School Students, Student Surveys, Data Analysis, Data Collection
DOI: 10.1177/0022427806291272
ISSN: 0022-4278
Abstract: This article explores how assumptions of determinacy and indeterminacy apply to general strain theory. Theories assuming determinacy assert that motivational conditions determine specific forms of deviant adaptations, whereas those assuming indeterminacy propose that a given social circumstance can predispose a person toward many forms of deviance. The authors propose that strain theory posits a strong tendency for the domains in which stresses occur to match those in which delinquency takes place. This is a source of determinacy. Drawing on stress spillover and aggression displacement arguments, the authors also discuss sources of indeterminacy--or domain crossover effects. The tendency toward domain matching that is tempered by stress spillover and aggression displacement is what the authors refer to as soft determinacy. The authors derive hypotheses from their soft determinacy argument and test them on a sample of middle school students. The results support the arguments and suggest that discussion of soft determinacy is worthy of further attention. (Contains 2 figures, 3 tables and 14 notes.)
Abstractor: As Provided
Number of References: 62
Entry Date: 2008
Accession Number: EJ805292
Database: ERIC
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  Data: How General is General Strain Theory? Assessing Determinacy and Indeterminacy across Life Domains
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Research+in+Crime+and+Delinquency%22"><i>Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency</i></searchLink>. 2006 43(4):297-325.
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  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
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  Data: This article explores how assumptions of determinacy and indeterminacy apply to general strain theory. Theories assuming determinacy assert that motivational conditions determine specific forms of deviant adaptations, whereas those assuming indeterminacy propose that a given social circumstance can predispose a person toward many forms of deviance. The authors propose that strain theory posits a strong tendency for the domains in which stresses occur to match those in which delinquency takes place. This is a source of determinacy. Drawing on stress spillover and aggression displacement arguments, the authors also discuss sources of indeterminacy--or domain crossover effects. The tendency toward domain matching that is tempered by stress spillover and aggression displacement is what the authors refer to as soft determinacy. The authors derive hypotheses from their soft determinacy argument and test them on a sample of middle school students. The results support the arguments and suggest that discussion of soft determinacy is worthy of further attention. (Contains 2 figures, 3 tables and 14 notes.)
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      – SubjectFull: Context Effect
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      – SubjectFull: Delinquency
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      – SubjectFull: Predictor Variables
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      – SubjectFull: Aggression
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      – SubjectFull: Student Surveys
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      – SubjectFull: Data Analysis
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