Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Adolescent Maltreatment, Substance Use, And Self-Efficacy : A Test Of General Strain Theory Among A Sample Of Clinical Youth, Sonya Worthington

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The relationship between adolescent maltreatment and delinquency has been of growing interest to social control, social learning, strain, and family-oriented theorist since the 1980’s. While ‘social control’, ‘social learning’, and ‘traditional strain’ theories dominated early delinquency research literature surrounding the association, the past few decades have experienced a shift from these sociological theories to those more social-psychological in nature, lending much support, credibility, and acceptance of Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST). GST offers a theoretical framework for understanding micro-level and macro level factors that influence the likelihood of delinquency. In short, GST contends some individuals engage in criminal and deviant …