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“Do Unstructured Routines Modify the Link Between Social-Psychological Strain and Adolescent Offending?”

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Abstract

In this article, based on Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST), main as well as interactive effects of social-psychological strain and unstructured routines in the explanation of petty crime and serious delinquency are studied in a general adolescent population. Data signify that family and school strain does relate to adolescent offending. However, chances of these types of strain leading to adolescent offending are highest amongst youth who do not engage in unstructured routines, which indicates that individual- and situational-based causes of offending have a great potential of being studied together. Strain resulting from a beloved person getting ill or passing away, on the other hand, only relates to adolescent offending through unstructured routines. Finally, it was found that strain mechanisms are more important in the explanation of serious delinquency than petty crime. Implications for further research as well as for the future of GST are discussed.

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Notes

  1. Names of researchers who cooperated in this project.

  2. ‘Tracking’, or grouping students based on their academic competencies, is a common phenomenon in Flemish high schools. Three main tracks exist: a general, technical and vocational track. In the general track, students are prepared to continue studying in a university or college. In the technical track, students are geared up to either start a technical career right after graduation, or to further specialize themselves through a technical study in college. In the vocational track, students are prepared to start a specific profession after graduation in high school. Finally, students who are gifted with artistic talent, have the option to enroll in the art schooltrack. This last track only includes a limited amount of students.

  3. ‘Tracking’ in schools means grouping high school students based on their academic competences. In Flanders, the three largest tracks are the general track (in which students are being prepared to go to college or university after graduating high school), the vocational track (in which students are being prepared to start working in a certain craft of profession after graduating) and the technical track (in which students are being prepared to start a technical job after graduation, or to follow higher technical education).

  4. A youth house is a place where youth (mostly from 16 years and older) come together to hang out and have drinks. Most youth houses also occasionally organize activities (often parties). A youth house is less organized than the classical youth organizations like scouting.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC), Catholic University of Leuven, Hooverplein 10 bus 3417, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Hanne Op de Beeck

  2. Research Unit Social Analysis of Security (SVA), Ghent University, Universiteitsstraat 4, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Lieven Pauwels

Authors
  1. Hanne Op de Beeck
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  2. Lieven Pauwels
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Correspondence to Hanne Op de Beeck.

Appendix

Appendix

  1. 1.

    Strain variables

    Factor loadings of life events on ‘family’, ‘school’, ‘loss’ and ‘other’ (principal axis factoring, varimax rotation)

     

    Family

    School

    Loss

    Father/mother remarried or moved in with a new partner

    .752

    		  

    Father/mother became unemployed

    .710

    		  

    Mother works again after being a house mom for a while

    .664

    		  

    Separation/divorce of parents

    .650

    		  

    Father/mother consume too much alcohol

    .481

    		  

    Changed schools

    		 

    .761

    		 

    Had to redo a school year

    		 

    .714

    		 

    Problems with study results

    		 

    .674

    		 

    A beloved person got ill or had an accident

    		  

    .797

    A beloved person passed away

    		  

    .750

    Fell in love

    		   

    Became pregnant or girlfriend became pregnant

    		   

    Got new siblings

    		   

    Other

    		   
  2. 2.

    Unstructured routines variable

Unsupervised socializing with peers

Where do you most often meet your friends? You cannot circle more than 2 answers. (1) In the street, in squares, in parks; (2) in pubs, bars or at parties; (3) at the sports club; (4) at a youth organization or a youth club; (5) at home or at a friend’s home; (6) at school; (7) at other places:……… .

Unsupervised activities

What do you most often occupy yourself with during your spare time? Circle 3 leisure activities to which you devote most time. (1) Watch tv or video; (2) use the computer (not for school or work); (3) read a book; (4) listen to music; (5) visit friends or have friends over; (6) go to a youth organization (e.g. scouting); (7) go to a youth house;Footnote 4 (8) go to a hobby club, art academy, music academy; (9) play sports in a club; (10) play sports casually (not in a club); (11) watch a sports game (not on tv); (12) go to a pub; (13) go to a bar; (14) go to the movies or a theatre (15) go to a music festival or a concert; (16) shop; (17) hang out on the street; (18) laze around, do nothing, day dream; (19) other.

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Op de Beeck, H., Pauwels, L. “Do Unstructured Routines Modify the Link Between Social-Psychological Strain and Adolescent Offending?”. Eur J Crim Policy Res 16, 221–235 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-010-9127-6

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