Agnew suggests that delinquency is the result of negative affective states. Discuss the multiple sources of stress indicated by Agnew. Include examples of these sources

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Failure to achieve positively valued goals. This type of strain occurs when a youth aspires for wealth and fame but lacks the financial and educational resources to achieve their goals.
• Disjunction of expectations and achievements. This source of strain is produced by a disjunction between expectations and achievements. When kids compare themselves to peers who seem to be doing a lot better financially or socially they will feel strain. For example, when a high school senior is accepted at a good college but not a "prestige school" like some of her friends, she will feel strain. She believes that she has not been treated fairly because the "playing field" is tilted against her or that "other kids have connections.".
• Removal of positively valued stimuli. Strain may occur because of the actual or anticipated removal or loss of a positively valued stimulus from the individual. The loss of a girlfriend or boyfriend can produce strain, as can the death of a loved one, moving to a new neighborhood or school, or the divorce or separation of parents. The loss of positive stimuli may lead to delinquency as the adolescent tries to prevent the loss, retrieve what has been lost, obtain substitutes, or seek revenge against those responsible for the loss. A child who experiences parental separation or divorce early in his life may seek out deviant peers to help fill his emotional needs and in so doing increases his chances of criminality.
• Presentation of negative stimuli. Negative experiences such child abuse and neglect, crime victimization, racism and discrimination, physical punishment, family and peer conflict, school failure, and interaction with stressful life events ranging from family breakup to dissatisfaction with friends, can also produce feelings of strain.
• Student responses will vary.