Strain theory has a long academic lineage for explaining criminal and deviant behavior from the classical writings of Emile Durkheim to the contemporary writings of Robert Agnew. The purpose of this research is to conduct an empirical test of Agnew's general strain theory utilizing Wave 1 data from the 1994-1996 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health data (Add Health) (N = 6,503). Utilizing the Add Health data set represents a new attempt at empirically evaluating Agnew's theory. Scales were constructed by the author operationalizing the propositions of general strain theory utilizing variables from this data set. Regression was used to find out if juvenile delinquency is associated with Agnew's general strain theory. Research findings show that taken together, the propositions of general strain theory, cumulative measures of failure to achieve goals, loss of valued objects and introduction of stressful events are all statistically significant predictors of juvenile delinquency. Regression and scale correlations indicated a low positive relationship between juvenile delinquency and Agnew's general strain theory propositions. This study represents an attempt in utilizing a data set which has not been used before to empirically test general strain theory.

The conduct of young adults has long been a concern in societies. The primary objective of this study was to gain greater understanding of what influences the deviant behavior of young adults in Turkey. Factors assessed in their background included family rituals, self-esteem, religiosity and deviant behavior. It was expected that levels of family rituals, religiosity, self-esteem and other risk factors would be significantly different between incarcerated youth and youth not incarcerated. Overall, these higher levels of family rituals, religiosity, and self-esteem plus lower levels of other risk factors were expected to negatively affect young people's engagement in deviant behavior in Turkey. Walter Reckless' containment theory provided a framework for this study. The non-probability sample of Turkish youths consisted of 205 incarcerated respondents and 200 college students. Each responded to four survey instruments, the Family Rituals Questionnaire, the Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory, the Religious Background and Behavior Questionnaire, and a Family Information Inventory. Data were gathered cross-sectionally from January through March of 2007. The incarcerated respondents significantly practices less family rituals and had lower levels of religiosity than the college students but they did not differ significantly on self-esteem. Furthermore, overall participation in family rituals was associated with decreased likelihood …

Objective: Differences between biologic and non-biologic parents' acceptance and use of ordinary corporal punishment and use of explaining/reasoning as a disciplinary tool are examined from a sociobiological theoretical perspective. Method: Cross tabulations are used on data from a national survey conducted by the Gallup Organization in 1995. Results: Contrary to predictions, differences between biologic and non-biologic parents' acceptance of ordinary corporal punishment and the use of explaining/reasoning are not statistically significant. In addition, biologic parents are found to use ordinary corporal punishment significantly more often than non-biologic parents. Conclusions: The sociobiological theoretical perspective likely underestimates the influence of culture and social structure on parent-child interactions.

Within the discipline of sociology human olfaction is rich with social significance yet remains a poorly charted frontier. Therefore, the following discourse is aimed toward the development of a foundation for the sociological study of olfaction. It is formed by the dual goals of unearthing the social history of olfaction and of providing a viable sociological account of the manner in which smells affect human ontology. From these goals arise the following research questions: (1) Have the meaning and social relevance of odors and the olfactory sensorium changed throughout different periods of history?; (2) How have those in the lineage of eminent sociological thinkers addressed the phenomenon of human olfaction during these periods?; and (3) What is the process by which aromatic stimuli are transformed from simple chemical compounds, drifting in the atmosphere, into sensations in a sensory field and then on to perceived objects, to subjects of judgment and interpretation, and finally to bases of knowledge which form and continually reform individuals in the world? The weaving of the sociohistorical tapestry of smell is undertaken to provide examples from thousands of years lived experiences as to the fluid and sociologically complex nature of individuals' olfactory senses. This historical information …

The impact of social influence from others on choices made by subjects and how this influence accumulates was studied by secondary analysis of reported experimental data. To explain this impact a link is proposed between social influence network theory (SINT) and status characteristics theory (SCT). The link formula transforms stay probabilities for different status relationships of subject with one disagreeing other agent into horizontal axis coordinate values while stay probabilities of subject given two disagreeing others are transformed into vertical-axis coordinate values corresponding to the horizontal axis values for further analyses. The results support the utility of the proposed link between the two theories.

This study examined the relationship between reports of controlling behaviors and education/income in a sample of 297 abused women and 2951 non-abused women in married or cohabitating relationships. This study confirmed that women who reported abuse were more likely to report all five of the controlling behaviors than women who did not report abuse. However, the abuse and non-abuse samples did show similar relationships between the controlling/isolating behaviors and the SES variables. This study found that the higher the respondent's or their partner's education and income, the less likely they were to report controlling/isolating behaviors. Also, the respondent's education and income had the same number of statistically significant relationships with the controlling behaviors as the partner's education and income.

The purpose of this qualitative interview study is to examine the lives and experiences children of incarcerated parents from a theoretical perspective through an application of the social stress process. Previous research on children of incarcerated parents has neglected to add a theoretical component to their research, which is the intention of this research. The results will be organized around the theoretical domains of the stress process applied to findings from the analysis of eleven qualitative interviews of mothers and/or caregivers of youth(s) of an incarcerated parent. Guided by analytic induction, the themes that emerged from the transcripts were applied to the theoretical propositions of the social stress process: stressors, mediators, and manifestations. Stressors experienced by children of incarcerated parents include: the incarceration of a parent, financial difficulties, and residential instability. Stress mediators include: coping mechanisms and the importance of maintaining familial ties during parental incarceration. The manifestations or outcomes include: internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

The objective of this study was to examine if intra-racial income inequality contributes to higher infant mortality rates (IMRs) for African-Americans. The conceptual framework for this study is derived from Richard Wilkinson's psychosocial environment interpretation of the income inequality and health link. The hypotheses examined were that race/ethnicity-specific IMRs are influenced by intra-race/ethnicity income inequality, and that these effects of income inequality on health are mediated by level of social mistrust and/or risk profile of the mother. Using state-level data from several sources, the 2000 National Center for Health Statistics Linked Birth Infant Death database, 2000 U.S. Census, and 2000 General Social Survey, a number of regression equations were estimated. Results indicated that the level of intra-racial/ethnic income inequality is a significant predictor of non-Hispanic Black IMRs, but not the IMRs of non-Hispanic Whites or Hispanics. Additionally, among Blacks, the effect of their intra-racial income inequality on their IMRs was found to be mediated by the risk profile of the mother, namely, the increased likelihood of smoking and/or drinking and/or less prenatal care by Black women during pregnancy. Implications of the findings are discussed.

This dissertation examines the role gender plays in predicting referral beyond juvenile court intake. Using referral data from Texas for 1999-2003, multinomial logistic regression is used to examine case processing decisions. Males were found to be more likely than females to be processed beyond intake for both status and delinquent offenses. Legal variables were found to influence processing decisions for delinquent offenses more than non-legal variables. In contrast, non-legal variables were found to influence processing decisions more than legal variables for status offenses. Finally, overall, minority females were not found to be more likely to be processed beyond intake than white females. Further research is needed to determine if the same finding is true for males.

This study used data from the homicides in Chicago 1965-1995 dataset (N=9,340) to examine the relationship between the use of certain types of weapons in criminal homicides by gender, race, age, victim-offender relationship, motive, location, and changes over time. Differential association and sex-role theory were utilized to argue why gender differences would occur in type of weapon used in a homicide. Subculture of violence theory was used to emphasize that the place where the homicide occurs, the relationship between the victim and offender, motive of the offender, and the remaining variables affects the type of weapon used to kill. Significant relationships were found for all bivariate analyses performed. The type of weapon used to kill differs most by sex of offender, resulting in a moderately strong association. The type of weapon used to kill differs least by age of offender and although statistically significant, the association between the two is very weak.

This study attempts to explore the strains that terror organization members experience prior to the training process in the organization. The primary goal of this research is to understand the relationship between the earlier experienced strains of terrorists and their violent behaviors. In the study a Turkish Hezbollah terror organization sample (N = 144) was utilized in the frame of Agnew's (1992) general strain theory. Initially, quantitative methods, such as bivariate analysis and multivariate analysis, were utilized to identify the cumulative effect of strains on the violent behaviors of terrorists. Later, by utilizing case studies with a qualitative approach the mediating effect of negative emotions (anger, frustration, depression and fear) were identified. This study found that among Turkish Hezbollah members, prior to joining the terrorist organization, individuals who experience higher levels of strain are more likely to perform violent acts when compared to individuals who experience lower levels of strain. This study affirmed earlier studies on strain-crime relationship. Moreover, utilized case studies support that negative emotions -specifically anger- mediate between strains and violent actions. In sum, this research retests and builds on Agnew's theory and argues that general strain theory can help terrorism studies to understand the sources of strains …

The development of tourism and more importantly eco-tourism has emerged as a primary objective for the government of Belize, Central America. This study examines two villages Seine Bight and Placencia located on a peninsula occupied by separate ethnic groups (Garifuna and Creole) that is located on a peninsula in Southern Belize. Seine Bight and Placencia are undergoing a change in economic activity to tourism. The study attempts to understand the role of ethnicity, socio-economic status, amount of contact with tourists, and the environment in regard to attitudes towards tourism utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods. The study also attempts to understand the organization and disorganization of productive activity on the peninsula and ethnicity over space and time. The point of diffusion and contact of different groups is reflected archeologically and historically in the marine landscape. The peninsula served not only as a natural harbor for those sailing up and down the coastline over time but also served as a point of diffusion of different groups reflected in changing place names, such as Placentia, Point Patient, and Pasciencia.

As Yancey (2003) has pointed out, the intentional character of racially integrated churches tends to lessen the social distance between Whites and minorities. The purpose of this study is to examine how racially hierarchy-attenuating and hierarchy-enhancing environments affect classism and sexism attitudes among congregations. The finding shows that multiracial churches promote H-A environment for class and race diversity, but not for gender equality. The class and race diversity is affected by organizational structure; on the other hand, gender equality is influenced by theologies. This study finds the answers to this discrepancy from the effect of biblical teachings on classist and sexist attitudes and the cumulative effect of structured domination of women.

The issue of juvenile drug abuse and criminal career continuity has become a nationwide concern in the last 3 decades. Social scientists and policymakers alike are concerned with the plausible relationship between juvenile drug abuse and adult crimes of high seriousness. This study represents an effort to examine the connection between juvenile drug abuse and criminal career continuity. This study has been conducted to examine the life course of the individual. The data came from Lyle Shannon's longitudinal study of the relationship between juvenile delinquency and adult crime in three birth cohorts from the city of Racine, Wisconsin The traditional social control approach toward reducing the likelihood of criminal career continuity is deterrence. The deterrence model asserts that people engage in certain kinds of behavior only after rational calculation of the costs versus the benefits. People who obey the law strive for the rewards of conformity and try to avoid the costs of criminal behavior. The threat of punishment increases the potential costs of breaking the law. Punishment is one sanction inducing such compliance. It must be realized, however, that deterrence does not have a linear effect across all types of offenders. The degree of deterrent effect on future criminal …

As the United States' baby boom generation ages, the future of nursing home care becomes increasingly important. Through this study the researcher seeks to understand quality in nursing home care from the family's perspective. Surveys were collected at one North Texas nursing home, and data were analyzed to determine how gender and level of family involvement impact their concept of quality. Further, the information in this study is aimed at clarifying if interventions, specifically empowered CNA teams, have an impact on how family members view quality. Findings are identified and recommendations for future study are made.

This thesis examined the impact of teacher quality and the socioeconomic status of students on school performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test. The data were obtained from the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) 2005-2006 Report. Disparities in education were used to examine the use of teacher quality in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. A multiple regression model was used and included other factors such as socioeconomic status of students, teacher salary, school funding, and student-teacher ratio. Using an ordinary least squares regression, I found that socioeconomic status of students had the most significant impact school performance. Two other variables, teacher salary and student-teacher ratio, had a significant effect on school performance suggesting alternative means of eliminating inequality in education.

Interviews conducted with patients receiving treatment for insomnia at one of two sleep medicine clinics, located in Texas and Oregon, suggest that work is a pivotal influence in shaping the respondents' interpretations, explanations and behaviors relating to insomnia. "Work" includes such facets as the nature of one's occupation, the associated volume or amount of work required, mental demands related to work, work schedules and work-related stress. Specifically, results reveal: 1) nearly 60% of the sample identify work as a primary or perpetuating cause of their insomnia, 2) respondents often report work as influencing the nature and importance of their sleep, 3) sleep is considered a problem, and medical intervention is solicited, after work is affected, and 4) work performance is a major consideration in determining treatment efficacy and compliance.

This research examines the coping processes of African American women with breast cancer and how those processes relate to low usage of cancer support groups by these women. Prior coping research has utilized predominantly White samples. The limited research on African American coping responses is conflicting and characterized by small samples and non-probability sampling techniques. In this study, 26 respondents from Central and North Texas metropolitan areas were interviewed, including 9 key informants, 9 African American breast cancer survivors, and 8 White survivors. The data suggest that African American and White women cope with breast cancer in significantly different ways. Culture appears to account for the differences. All African American breast cancer survivors identified faith as their primary coping strategy. In contrast, only half of the White survivors claimed faith as their primary coping strategy, but like the other White survivors, tended to rely on multiple coping strategies. The African American survivors conceptualized God as an active member of their support network. Most prayed for healing, and several attributed examples of healing to God's intervention. The White survivors found God's presence in the actions of other people. They prayed for strength, peace, and courage to endure the illness. The use …

Changes in income and representation in managerial occupations is explored separately for women and men among the United States' eight largest race/ethnic minority groups for each decennial census of 1960, 1970, 1980 and 1990 to determine how much change has occurred between 1960 and 1990 in race and ethnic inequality, and in gender inequality within each race/ethnic group. Insights from gender theory are applied to minority group inequality and insights from minority group theory are applied to gender inequality with some degree of success. Economic change is uneven among the groups, with the largest specific change being the movement of women into managerial jobs. A clear pattern also emerged indicating that the higher the average representation of a minority group in managerial jobs, the greater the gap between women and men. The income of all persons with income, however, did not exhibit such a clear pattern across the different groups.

This dissertation examines predictors of juror-determined damage awards among 377 juror eligible mock jurors. Citizens reporting for jury duty in a large metropolitan county on five days when the study was conducted were invited to participate. Scenarios were created that varied both case facts and witness emotion during trial testimony. Results indicate that Affect Control Theory can be applied to the situation of juror-determined damage awards and is helpful in scientifically explaining some of the variation of both compensatory and punitive damage awards.

This research was concerned with the possible effects that religion, especially conservative Protestantism, has upon the performance of fatherhood. The influence of religion was assessed using the religious beliefs reported by fathers. The performance of fatherhood focused on the amount of time fathers spent meeting the physical needs of their young children. This research hypothesized that conservative Protestant fathers would spend more time meeting their children's physical needs than other Protestant fathers. Also hypothesized was that the level of conservative Protestant beliefs held by fathers is positively related to the proportion of time they spent meeting the physical needs of their children out of the total time spent by fathers and mothers combined. Finally, it was hypothesized that the level of conservative Protestant beliefs held by fathers was positively related to their membership in conservative religious denominations. In order to test whether conservative Protestantism has an effect upon the amount of time that fathers spend meeting the physical needs of their young children, this study will used data from the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), completed in 1988. Regression analysis was used to test the first two hypotheses and crosstabulation analysis was used to …

The problem examined is community solidarity in a well-established prison town. The primary question addressed in this study is "what is the reported impact of a correctional facility's presence on community solidarity?" This study is concerned with the community's perception about the problems, as well as the benefits involved in the housing of a prison and in particular the solidarity of the community. The relevant literature dates from 1929 to 2004 and examines a wide range of concepts associated with community studies and prison studies. Based on themes found in the review of prison literature; work issues, safety, concern about children, stress, community image, benefits, community identity, and community cohesion, seven research questions were constructed. A semi-structured interview was conducted of 81 residents of Walker County in Huntsville, Texas. Huntsville houses 9 prisons. The prison system is the primary employer in the county. A qualitative data analysis using Altius/tr as a tool for content analysis was used. Throughout the data, community residents consistently indicated solidarity. Emerging from the data were seven themes associated with community solidarity:(a) unqualified community pride, (b) normalization, (c) defensiveness against the media, (d) qualified community pride, (e) denial, (f) community and myths, (g) economics.

The older adult population in the United States is rapidly expanding both because of longer life expectancies as well as the aging of the baby boomers. While vision impairment is a growing concern among older adults, there have been few, mostly small studies, of the impact of vision impairment on this population. The present study uses a national data set, the Second Supplement on Aging (1994 -1996) from the National Health Interview Survey, in a cross-sectional study of 9,447 civilian non-institutionalized persons, aged 70 years and over at the time of their interview. The SOA II has been studied in the context of a social theory of aging that emphasizes interdependence through the life course using a stress process model that has been refined into a disability model. Disability is understood as a social construction outcome rather than as a medical outcome. Vision impairment is the stressor which is mediated by health (falls, functioning and self-health report), financial resources (education, income and having only public health insurance) and social support (marital, living along, having no living children, social activities in number and intensity). Depression is a possible, but not a necessary result of vision impairment. Disability may result when a …

This study is a secondary analysis of survey data collected in fall 2000 from patients of a safety-net hospital and its eight community health outreach clinics in Fort Worth, Texas. The study examined three objectives. These include explaining the utilization of Pap smear tests among the sample who were low-income women, by ascertaining the determinants of using these services. Using binary logistic regressions analyses primarily, the study tested 10 hypotheses. The main hypothesis tested the race/ethnicity/immigration status effect on Pap smear screening. The remaining hypotheses examined the effects of other independent/control variables on having a Pap smear. Results from the data provide support for the existence of a race/ethnicity/immigration status effect. Anglos were more likely to have had a Pap smear, followed by African Americans, Hispanic immigrants, and finally, by Hispanic Americans. The persistence of the race/ethnicity/immigration status effect, even when the effects of other independent/control variables are taken into account, may be explained by several factors. These include cultural differences between the different groups studied. The race/ethnicity/immigration status effect on Pap smear screening changed with the introduction of age, usual source of care, check-up for current pregnancy, and having multiple competing needs for food, clothing and housing into the …