Gender and General Strain Theory: The Gendering of Emotional Experiences and Expressions

• NCJ Number: 230691
• Journal: Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2010 Pages: 224-245
• Author(s): Stacy De Coster; Rena Cornell Zito
• Date Published: May 2010
• Length: 22 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: North Carolina State University
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study reviewed and assessed the proposition that angry responses to strain differ for males and females in ways that produce the gender gap in delinquency.

Abstract

In their strain theory explanation for the gender gap in delinquency, Broidy and Agnew posit that the joint experience of anger and depression, which is more typical among females than males, should help explain gender differences in delinquency. The authors extend and test their claim using data from a southeastern middle school. Their findings show that females are more likely than males to experience anger and depression concomitantly and that the interaction between anger and depression is important for understanding the gender gap in delinquency. This is not because depression alleviates the impact of anger on delinquency among females, as suggested by gendered strain theory. Instead, depression exacerbates the effect of anger on delinquency among males. This article concludes that the key to understanding links between gender, emotions, and delinquency resides in gendered expressions of emotional responses to stress rather than in gendered experiences of emotions. Tables, appendix, notes, and references (Published Abstract)