Adolescent Victimization and Delinquent Behavior (Criminal Justice: Recent Scholarship)

Harrell uses several waves of the National Youth Survey to measure whether Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST) could explain the relationship between adolescent victimization and delinquency. She examines the effects of victimization on different types of delinquency across racial and gender groups. The main premise of the GST, that increased strain in an individual can lead to increased delinquent behavior, is supported here. Adolescent victimization, as a source of strain, increases delinquent behavior. However, the effect of adolescent victimization delinquency did vary across racial and gender groups.