Vicarious Stain, Negative Emotions, and Maladaptive Coping: Investigating the Effect of Deviant Peers

• In Event: Peer Contexts: Mediators and Moderators

Abstract

Robert Agnew’s (1992) general strain theory (GST), arguing that strain causes one to experience negative emotions (i.e., anger, frustration, and depression) ultimately leading to the involvement in crime, is one of many theories formulated to explain criminal and deviant behavior. Research has suggested that there are three types of strain, which are: experienced, vicarious, and anticipated (Agnew, 2002). Strain can be experienced from various sources, such as family, finances, academics, and community. Agnew (2002) notes that many studies testing GST has focused on experience strain, while occasionally investigating vicarious strain. This study test Agnew’s vicarious strain hypothesis, specifically assessing the relationship between vicarious strain and maladaptive coping. Moreover, it investigates the moderating impact of deviant peers on the relationship between strain and maladaptive coping.

Author

• D'Andre Walker, University of Iowa