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Merging Agnew's General Strain Theory and Hirschi's Social Bond Theory

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The two theories I have decided to merge are Agnew’s General Strain Theory and Hirschi’s Social Bond Theory. I picked General Strain Theory because it does a good job at discussing some of the things that can trigger the release of a person’s negative emotions which in turn may lead to deviant behavior. I also decided to write about Social Bond Theory because it describes some of the factors that keep people from committing crime. Both of the theories have strengths and weaknesses individually, but when merged they help fill in each other’s gaps. (Agnew, 2011; Hirschi, 2011) +1 (888) 295-7904

The proposal of Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory in explaining criminal deviance is based on three concepts. The first concept is that people are not naturally inclined to commit crimes. Rather, their transition towards deviant behavior begins when they experience strain. The second concept is that once strain is present, depending on the severity of the stain, a person becomes victim to their own negative emotions like anger, jealousy, and frustration. Their response to those negative emotions may expedite their transition. The third concept looks at a person’s ability to cope with the strain and negative emotions. If a person has poor coping abilities they tend to become overwhelmed by the strain and the negative emotions they are feeling as a result of strain. Poor coping abilities may cause someone to commit crime in hopes of rectifying their situation. (Agnew, 2011)

General Strain Theory views most humans as being lawful and moral citizens in their society. The average citizen only turns to deviance when they become inflicted with negative emotions brought on by one or more of the three main types of strain. The three types ...

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...rain theory. In F. Cullen & R. Agnew (Eds.), Criminological Theory: Past to Present (pp. 189-197). New York: Oxford University Press Inc.

Agnew, R. (2011). Pressured into crime: General strain theory. In F. Cullen & R. Agnew (Eds.), Criminological Theory: Past to Present 4th ed. (pp. 190). New York: Oxford University Press Inc.

Agnew, R. (2011). Pressured into crime: General strain theory. In F. Cullen & R. Agnew (Eds.), Criminological Theory: Past to Present 4th ed. (pp. 191). New York: Oxford University Press Inc.

Hirschi, T. (2011). Social bond theory. In F. Cullen & R. Agnew (Eds.), Criminological Theory: Past to Present 4th ed. (pp. 215-223). New York: Oxford University Press Inc.

Hirschi, T. (2011). Social bond theory. In F. Cullen & R. Agnew (Eds.), Criminological Theory: Past to Present 4th ed. (p. 217). New York: Oxford University Press Inc.
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