General Strain Theory (GST) argues that drug use is one way adolescents mitigate negative emotions brought on by aversive environmental stimuli. To date, many of the empirical tests of the strain-drug use relationship have neglected to include measures of negative emotion, despite its prominence in GST's etiology of deviant behavior. The following study tests the mediating effects of despair on the strain-drug use relationship, evaluating the effects of parental reactions to leaving school on post-dropout drug use. The moderating effects of recency of dropout and gender of respondent are also considered. Results show that negative parental reactions to dropout affect drug use for females only, and that despair does not mediate this relationship. This type of negative affect has direct effects on drug use for both genders, rather than the indirect effects predicted by GST. These findings affirm prior research linking depressive negative affective states to drug use, but suggests that the relationship between strain and such emotional states is more complex than the theory suggests, particularly when the moderating effects of gender are considered.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The 1994 and 2000 waves of the study do not contain measures of deviance.
Counting respondents who had recently returned to school as dropouts could potentially challenge the time order of a study centered on the consequences of parental reactions to leaving school. I cross tabulated the return to school date (if any) with the survey date and identified only one dropout in the sample who was attending high school at the time they were surveyed.
The parental reactions scales were constructed to minimize the number of predictor variables in the regression equations. Cronbach's alphas for two of the three scales are below .5, indicating independence among items in the scale. However, in a separate set of analyses not shown, I included the components of the negative reactions and neutral reactions scales in my regression models. The results were not substantively different from the models presented in the current study.
Parents’ educational expectations for the adolescent were included in earlier models of strain, despair, and drug use. They had neither a direct nor a conditioning effect on dropouts’ drug use.
REFERENCES
Agnew, R. (1985). A revised strain theory of delinquency. Social Forces 64: 151–167.
Agnew, R. (1992). Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology 30: 47–84.
Agnew, R. (2001). Building on the foundation of general strain theory: Specifying the types of strain most likely to lead to crime and delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 38: 319–361.
Agnew, R., and Brezina, T. (1997). Relational problems with peers, gender, and delinquency. Youth and Society 29: 84–111.
Agnew, R., and White, H. R. (1992). An empirical test of general strain theory. Criminology 30: 475–499.
Aneshensel, C. S. (1992). Social stress: Theory and research. Annual Review of Sociology 18: 15–32.
Aseltine, R. H., Gore, S., and Gordon, J. (2000). Life stress, anger and anxiety, and delinquency: An empirical test of general strain theory. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 41: 256–275.
Brezina, T. (1996). Adapting to strain: An examination of delinquent coping responses. Criminology 34: 39–60.
Broene, P., and Rust, K. (2000). Strengths and Limitations of Using SUDAAN, Stata, and WesVarPC for Computing Variances from NCES Data Sets. National Center for Education Statistics Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Washington, DC.
Broidy, L. (2001). A test of general strain theory. Criminology 39: 9–33.
Broidy, L., and Agnew, R. (1997). Gender and crime: A general strain theory perspective. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 34: 275–306.
Campbell, A. 1993. Men, Women, and Aggression. Basic Books, New York.
Capowich, G. E., Mazerolle, P., and Piquero, A. (2001). General strain theory, situational anger, and social networks: An assessment of conditioning influences. Journal of Criminal Justice 29: 445–461.
Chavez, E. L., Edwards, R., and Oetting, E. R. (1989). Mexican American and white American school dropouts’ drug use, health status, and involvement in violence. Public Health Reports 104: 594–604.
Cloward, R., and Ohlin, L. (1966). Delinquency and Opportunity. The Free Press, New York.
Coalition for Juvenile Justice. (2001). Abandoned in the Back Row: New Lessons in Education and Delinquency Prevention. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Washington, DC.
Cohen, A. K. (1955). Delinquent Boys: The Culture of the Gang. The Free Press, New York.
Compas, B. E., and Phares, V. (1991). Stress during childhood and adolescence: Sources of risk and vulnerability. In Cummings, E. M., Greene, A. L., and Karraker’s, K. H. (eds.), Life Span Developmental Psychology. Erlbaum and Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 111–129.
Fagan, J., and Pabon, E. (1990). Contributions of delinquency and substance abuse to dropout among inner city youths. Youth and Society 21: 306–354.
Hao, L., and Bonstead-Brun, M. (1998). Parent-child differences in educational expectations and the academic achievement of immigrant and native students. Sociology of Education 71: 175–198.
Hay, C. (2003). Family strain, gender, and delinquency. Sociological Perspectives 46: 107–135.
Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of Delinquency. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Hoffmann, J. P. (2002). The community context of family structure and drug use. Journal of Marriage and the Family 64: 314–330.
Hoffmann, J. P. (2003). A contextual analysis of differential association, social control, and strain theories of delinquency. Social Forces 81: 753–785.
Hoffmann, J. P., and Cerbone, F. G. (1999). Stressful life events and delinquency escalation in early adolescence. Criminology 37: 343–373.
Hoffmann, J. P., Ceborne, F. G., and Su, S. (2000). A growth curve analysis of stress and adolescent drug use. Substance Use and Misuse 35: 687–716.
Hoffmann, J. P., and Su, S. (1998). Stressful life events and adolescent substance use and depression: Conditional and gender differentiated effects. Substance Use and Misuse 33: 2219–2262.
Hoffmann, J. P., and Su, S. (1997). The conditional effects of stress on delinquency and drug use: A strain theory assessment of sex differences. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 34: 46–78.
Ingels, Steven J., Kathryn, L. Dowd, James, L. Stipe, John, D. Baldridge, Virginia, H. Bartot, Martin, R. Frankel, and Peggy, Quinn. (1994). National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988: Second Follow-Up Dropout Component Data File User's Manual. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Washington, DC.
Jang, S. J., and Johnson, B. R. (2003). Strain, negative emotions, and deviant coping among African Americans: A test of general strain theory. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 19: 79–105.
Jarjoura, R. G. (1993). Does dropping out of high school enhance delinquent involvement? Results from a large-scale national probability sample. Criminiology 31: 149–172.
Jarjoura, R. G. (1996). The conditional effect of social class on the dropout-delinquency relationship. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 33: 232–255.
Jenkins, P. (1997). School delinquency and the school social bond. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 34: 337–368.
Johnson, R. A., and Hoffmann, J. P. (2000). Adolescent cigarette smoking in U.S. racial/ethnic subgroups: Findings from the national education longitudinal study. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 41: 392–407.
Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., and Bachman, J. G. (1993). National Survey Results from on Drug Use from the Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1992. Volume I: Secondary School Students. NIH Publication No. 93-3597. National Institute of Drug Abuse, Bethesda, MD.
Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., and Bachman, J. G. (2003). Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use: Overview of Key Findings. NIH Publication No. 03–5374. National Institute of Drug Abuse, Bethesda, MD.
Kandel, D. B. (1975). Reaching the hard to reach: Illicit drug use among high school absentees. Addictive Diseases 4: 465–480.
Kaplan, D. S., Damphouse, H. R., and Kaplan, H. B. (1994). Mental health implications of not graduating from high school. Journal of Experimental Education 62: 105–123.
Kaplan, D. S., Damphouse, H. R., and Kaplan, H. B. (1996). Moderating effects of gender on the relationship between not graduating from high school and psychological dysfunction in young adulthood. Journal of Educational Psychology 88: 760–744.
Kaufman, P., Alt, M. N., and Chapman, C. (2001). Dropout Rates in the United States: 2000. National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC.
Leadbetter, B. J., Blatt, S. J., and Quinlan, D. M. (1995). Gender-linked vulnerabilities to depressive symptoms, stress, and problem behaviors in adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence 5: 1–29.
Levin, H. M. (1972). The Costs to the Nation of Inadequate Education. U.S. Senate Select Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
Mazerolle, P. (1998). Gender, general strain, and delinquency: An empirical examination. Justice Quarterly 15: 65–91.
Mazerolle, P., and Piquero, A. (1998). Linking exposure to strain with anger: An investigation of deviant adaptations. Journal of Criminal Justice 26: 195–211.
Mensch, B. S., and Kandel, D. B. (1988). Dropping out of high school and drug involvement. Sociology of Education 61: 95–113.
Mirowsky, J., and Ross, C. E. (1995). Sex differences in distress: Real or artifact?. American Sociological Review 60: 449–468.
Morgan, S. L., (1996). Trends in black-white differences in educational expectations: 1980-92. Sociology of Education 69: 308–319.
Pearlin, L. I., and Turner, H. (1987). The family as a context of the stress process. In Kasl, S. V., and Cooper’s, C. L. (eds.), Stress and Health: Issues in Research Methodology. Chichester, New York, pp. 143–165.
Piquero, N. L., and Sealock, M. D. (2000). Generalizing general strain theory: An examination of an offending population. Justice Quarterly 17: 449–484.
Piquero, N. L., and Sealock, M. D. (2004). Gender and general strain theory: A preliminary test of Broidy and Agnew's gender/GST hypothesis. Justice Quarterly 21: 125–158.
Rumberger, R. W. (1987). High school dropouts: A review of issues and evidence. Review of Educational Research 57: 101–121.
Simons, R. L, Chen, Y. F., Stewart, E. A., and Brody, G. H. (2003). Incidents of discrimination and risk for delinquency: A longitudinal test of strain theory with an African American sample. Justice Quarterly 20: 827–854.
Streeter, C. L., and Franklin, C. (1991). Psychological and family differences between middle class and low-income dropouts: A discriminant analysis. High School Journal 74: 211–219.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2004). Overview of Findings from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH, Series H-24, DHHS Publication No. SMA 04-3963). Rockville, MD.
Swaim, R. C., Beauvais, R., Chavez, E. L., and Oetting, E. R. (1997). The effect of school dropout rates on estimates of adolescent substance use among three racial/ethnic groups. American Journal of Public Health 87: 51–55.
Teachman, J. D., and Paasch, K. (1998). The family and educational aspirations. Journal of Marriage and the Family 60: 704–714.
Thornberry, T. P., Moore, M., and Christensen, R. L. (1985). The effect of dropping out of high school on subsequent criminal behavior. Criminology 23: 3–18.
Tidwell, R. (1988). Dropouts speak out: Qualitative data on early school departures. Adolescence 92: 939–954.
Turner, R. J., Wheaton, B., and Lloyd, D. (1995). The epidemiology of social stress. American Sociological Review 60: 104–125.
Wheaton, B. (1990). Life transitions, role histories, and mental health. American Sociological Review 55: 209–223.
Wiatrowski, M., Griswold, D., and Roberts, M. (1981). Social control theory and delinquency. American Sociological Review 46: 525–541.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Criminal Justice at Washington State University Vancouver. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. Her primary research interests include substance abuse among youth, criminal justice system responses to drug abusing offenders, and fear of crime among urban populations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Drapela, L.A. The Effect of Negative Emotion on Licit and Illicit Drug Use Among High School Dropouts: An Empirical Test of General Strain Theory. J Youth Adolescence 35, 752–767 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9059-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9059-0