Soccer Hooliganism in Iran: A Test of Agnew’s General Strain Theory

ABSTRACT

Fan aggression (verbal and physical) at sporting events is seemingly becoming increasingly more prevalent, so much so that that one form has been coined as “soccer hooliganism.” Although an emergent area of social and criminological inquiry, few studies have attempted to predict or explain this behavior through a theoretical lens. The present study applies Agnew’s general strain theory to self-reported data on Iranian soccer fans’ verbal and physically aggressive behaviors. The results of both hierarchical multiple regression analyses and structural equation modeling reveal solid support for Agnew’s theory. As expected, strains are both directly and indirectly (via negative affect) associated with fan aggression. Moreover, the effects of strain on fan aggression are also conditioned by both self-control and social support, but less so by criminal peer associations. Finally, although the data support Agnew’s theory with regard to deviant fan aggression, they do not support his theory with regard to conventional coping strategies; conventional coping is inversely associated with strain.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Seyyed Masoomeh (Shamila) Shadmanfaat

SEYYED MASOOMEH (SHAMILA) SHADMANFAAT is master’s graduate of Sociology of University of Guilan. She has published several papers about sociology of sport with a focus on gender differences in sport participation. Her current research interests involve sport criminology

John K. Cochran

JOHN K. COCHRAN is Professor of Criminology at the University of South Florida. Professor Cochran earned his Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Florida (1987). He has over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts most of which involve tests of micro-social theories of criminal behavior and macro-social theories of crime and crime control. His current research interests involve tests of micro-social theories of criminal behavior. He is also continuing his work on issues associated with the death penalty.

Caitlyn N. Muniz

CAITLYN N. MEADE is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Criminology at the University of South Florida. Her main research interests involve victimology, campus sexual assault, and applying criminological theories to sexual assault. She has published on a variety of topics such as sex offenders, group-based trajectory modeling, perceptions of child abuse, and the death penalty.

Saeed Kabiri

SAEED KABIRI is Ph.D. student of Social Problems at the University of Guilan. Kabiri earned his master degree in Sociology at University of Cuillan (2012). He has published several papers about the sociology of sports. His current research interests involve sport criminology.