General Strain Theory, Religiosity, and Delinquency among Young Latino Americans

ABSTRACT

Utilizing general strain theory and drawing from contemporary racial stratification literature and the sociology of religion, I contend general strain theory is salient among young Latinos. Additionally, I hypothesize religiosity is negatively correlated with delinquency, and attenuates the effects of strain on negative emotions and those of negative emotions on delinquency. Moreover, I hypothesize the impact of religiosity is more salient for foreign born than native born Latino youth. I test these hypotheses using data from the first two waves of Add Health. Results generally provide support for my hypotheses. The implications of these results and directions for future studies are discussed.

Notes

¹ While GST is primarily a micro-level theory and focuses on the individual level mechanisms that lead to crime and deviance (such as negative emotions and personalized forms of strain), it does not overlook the structural mechanisms that contribute to crime and deviance. Traditional strain theory (see Merton 1938) attributed crime and deviance to structural issues. GST (see Agnew 1992, 2005) argued that the structural disadvantages and strain create negative emotions, which individuals try to cope with on a personal level. One method of coping is through crime and deviance.

² Since Agnew emphasized both the presence and perceived presence of negative stimuli as a form of strain, I have included measures of actual criminal victimization as well as vicarious victimization (witnessing someone else getting stabbed or shot).

³ In ancillary analyses all interactions were run individually. The results were consistent with the models shown, and all significant differences are footnoted.

⁴ The coefficient in the model shown was not significant (p = .202). However, in the ancillary analyses run when individual and corporate religiosity were interacted with nativity without the rest of the interactions included, the coefficient was significant (b = −0.65 and p = .015). Consequently, this interaction is marked as significant in the table.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brandon C. Martinez

BRANDON C. MARTINEZ is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Providence College. His primary interests include the sociology of religion, racial and ethnic relations, and the social outcomes of the intersection of race and religion. His recent research has been published in journals such as Social Psychology Quarterly, the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, and Social Science Research.