Theory
What is theory? According to Garver (2008, p. 65) theory can be nothing more than a hunch, in which case it may lack not only proof but also any reasonable basis in fact or probability, because, theories are too diverse to just be listed under just any single type of rules. Maybe because all of them can carry us somewhere further than what is right underneath our noses and just maybe that in itself is what is really important. Theory will never go away, and it will always involve some form of research from “the first stage, help us to create research questions, and then to derive specific hypotheses or theses” (“What is Theory”, n.d., p. 1). Next, we are able to use it “to make our findings comprehensible, then perhaps it will enable us to see the connection between different sorts of research findings, to draw some form of conclusions about the world, and finally, it will be our guide in addressing problems in practical ways” (“What is Theory”, n.d, p. 1).
General Strain Theory
The theory we used was general strain theory (GST). This research will examine what type of effect it could have on delinquent behaviors of juveniles’ or adults, by investigating the effect of vicarious, experienced, anticipated victimization and the unsuitable coping mechanisms of inmates. It will specifically, examines how they could be affected by witnessing different types of physical victimization on other inmates’ or use of violence and drug/alcohol.
As we know just being exposed to the
Theories are a series of interconnected proposals. Theories are an effort to describe, explain, predict, and finally control a period of events. We are able to base our experiments and select the contenders for the experiments off of our theories. We are able to test our theories by how well the cumulated data describes, relates to and predicts reality. Theories act as patterns for interpreting specific data that we may refer back to. These patterns ensure we stay on topic and are able to obtain the proper results needed to verify our theories.
Roy believes nursing as a key player to help patients to develop coping mechanism and positive outcome from the constant stimuli exposure. Roy’s goal is for the patient to achieve adaptation leading to optimum health, well-being, quality of life, death with dignity, and finding in life by participating in their own care (Roy & Andrews, 1999.)
A theory is a set of systematic informed hunches about the way things work. A good theory goes beyond accepted wisdom and offers explanations and speculations about phenomena. Additionally, a good theory consists of a system of concepts which means that the theorist were able to make connections among his ideas. A theory tends to shape our perception of reality and behaviour and guides us through unknown areas.
The general strain theory is an established theory that provides a basic understanding relating to different elements leading to specific criminal behaviors. The theory has been of importance in trying to map criminal patterns among individuals involved in criminal behavior, thereby creating a platform for their rehabilitation. The general strain theory has had a close connection to juvenile delinquency, as it creates a platform where psychologists can define some of the key factors prompting teenagers and youths to engage in criminal behaviors. According to Zhang (2008), teenagers and youths tend to become highly vulnerable to lack of emotional control attributed to an aspect of negative emotions, which do not include anger, thereby creating a platform for them to engage in behaviors that would be characterized as criminal. The main research problem of this report is to create a connection between the general strain theory and juvenile delinquency.
Theory simply tells the essential truth about the real world through evidence obtained by scientific method. Barker defines theory as a group of related hypotheses, concepts, and constructs, based on facts and observations all in which attempt to explain a phenomenon. Every theory is unique, but can reflect some of the same general ideas. Though every theory has a different focus, they can all be intertwined in order to enhance therapeutic alliance. In order to choose the best theoretical orientation for ourselves and how they will benefit our practice, we first have to understand the meaning of theoretical orientation.
Researchers are constantly looking for explanations for criminal patterns and crime rates among juveniles. They have presented many theories to serve as such explanations with strain theory being one of them; however, like many other theories, strain theory was pushed aside decades ago. It was not until recently that this theory was given new life by criminologist, Robert Agnew. Robert Agnew introduced this new development as the general strain theory. GST was the first supposition that was not tied to social class or cultural variables as it was in previous implications of Émile Durkheim’s anomie theory. Instead, Agnew’s theory refocused on societal norms that affect juveniles.
Strain theory describes the idea that there are certain events and conditions in an individual’s life that are disliked and involve the inability to achieve goals, loss of positively valued stimuli, and presentation of negative stimuli (Brezina and Agnew). Child neglect and abuse can be described by this theory, and often is, because of its elements and the effect it has on children. Before the idea of child abuse and neglect causing juvenile delinquency can be argued, juvenile delinquency must be defined. Brezina and Agnew define juvenile delinquency as law violations committed by minors. One of the largest debated consequences of child abuse and neglect is it causes juvenile delinquency in victims. Juvenile offenders are view by the justice system as “‘immature’ in the sense that they are less capable of appreciating the consequences of their actions, less able to exercise self-control and more easily lead astray by others.” Supports of this claim say abuse causes delinquency because weak bonds, low self-control, and confrontation with negative stimuli.
Robert Agnew proposed the general strain theory. This theory can relate to a larger range of behaviors because it does not focus as much on the lower class, and it provides a model that individuals can apply to their lives when it comes to the frustration the deal with in their everyday lives. Other strain theories assumes that the American Dream is the way of life. This theory does not rely on the assumption that every lower class individual believes the American Dream is the way of life and the results do not turn out the way they expected, which can cause frustration. It focuses more on the fact that everyone, no matter the social class they belong to, deal with frustrations in their everyday life.
This article’s goal was to test the applicability of Agnew’s general strain theory to other explanations regarding whether or not physical victimization while incarcerated increased the risk of negative reentry from inmates previously incarcerated, particularly criminal offenders and substance abusers. Two studies that have been made have used the general strain theory as a way to approach and examine the effects of different types of victimization related to substance abuse. The first study that was made used data retrieved from the National Youth Survey. This data was found to have support for GST and had recorded that physical abuse in early
A theory is an explanation of why or how things are related to each other (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). Additionally, a theory is defined as a plausible or scientifically acceptable principle, or a body of principles, offered to explain phenomena (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2017). Furthermore, crime theories examine and attempt to identify relationships among humans, criminal behavior, and specific factors such as biological factors, psychological factors, sociological factors, and economic factors (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). Since we have defined a theory, let us further discuss how theories are created beginning with the components of a theory.
2. Theory simply means we come up with a problem, and we look for a solution. A theory is a series that tries to
Theory is a journey to uncover the past and improve the future. By uncovering and analyzing a discipline’s theoretical journey, insight and self-awareness are gained. According to Meleis (2012), “Theories are reservoirs in which related knowledge is articulated and organized into meaningful wholes” (p.33). By implementing and analyzing theories, empowerment and guidance for the future is obtained.
A theory is primarily meant to explain or predict an event, behaviour or outcome. Proponents of a theory look for evidence to support the theory. This evidence should be independently observed and consistent after repeated observations. Some theories are speculative or ideas or guesses floated to encourage researchers to undertake the observations required to prove or disprove the theory. The question often debated is what comes
Theory explains how individual act toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things. The meaning comes
Strain theory is an occurrence within society where pressure to the juvenile to commit crimes, the juvenile is compelled remains in a specific settings like family and school. Therefore if said juvenile is experiencing pain or aversive it is hard for them to escape the situation. So to alleviate this discomfort they turn to crime, this mainly seen within the subculture of gangs (Agnew, 2012).