Examining the relationship between different strains and perceptions of the risks, costs, and rewards of crime

• In Event: Lightning Talk: Emerging Scholars in Developmental and Life-Course Criminology - Panel 2

Abstract

General strain theory (GST) has been proposed as a potentially useful framework for
understanding individual patterns of behavior over time. Although the effects of strain on
negative emotions and offending have been extensively examined, less attention has been
attributed to other psychosocial constructs that strain might affect. Findings from the
psychophysiological literature indicate that exposure to stressors influences decision-making,
particularly reward processing and risk tolerance among adolescents, which suggests a potential relationship between strain and changes in decision-making outcomes. The current study builds on these findings and recent research on rational choice theory to examine the relationship between exposure to strains and the perceived costs and benefits of crime. Data were analyzed from the Pathways to Desistance Study, a longitudinal study of the transition from adolescence to adulthood among an at-risk sample of youth. Preliminary analyses revealed that specific forms of strain including victimization and witnessing violence were related to decreases in perceived risks and social costs of crime and increases in perceived personal costs and rewards of crime. Strains related to police interactions and neighborhood deprivation were weakly associated with decreases in perceived risks and social costs of crime and increases in social and personal rewards of crime.

Author

• Christopher Jodis, Florida State University