Life Events and Delinquency: An Assessment of Event-Based Strains and Gender Differences among Adolescents in Mainland China

• In Event: Empirical Tests of Social Learning, Self-Control, and General Strain Theories in International Contexts

Abstract

Studies that test general strain theory in China have primarily focused on poor treatments by others and few have assessed the influences of stressor events other than negative treatments as antecedents of delinquency. This study assesses both the cumulative and relative effects of multiple stressor events including parents’ marital instability, family’s financial disruption, health crisis, and romantic breakups as antecedents of delinquency in mainland China and how these effects may vary by adolescent gender. Data drawn from over 500 middle-school students from an urban city in China yielded significant observations: Stressful events are related to delinquency after controlling for poor treatments and other common correlates, and event effects are observed both as a composite index and by specific domains. Furthermore, significant gender differences are noted: For boys, delinquency is associated with family’s financial disruption, parents’ marital instability, and romantic breakups. For girls, romantic dissolution and health crisis are associated with delinquency. These results along with others are addressed in light of general strain theory and gender disparity in the sociocultural context of mainland China.

Author

• Ruth X. Liu, San Diego State University