Strain, self-control, and gender differences in delinquency among Chinese adolescents: Extending general strain theory

Abstract

Agnew's general strain theory (GST) and Gottfredson and Hirschi's self-control theory represent significant theoretical developments in sociology of deviance over the last two decades. Both theories offer unique insights into the well-known controversy of gender disparity in crime and delinquency. Incorporating their ideas and testing them in a Chinese context, this study investigates the role of self-control, which has been seldom included in GST assessments, in moderating the strain-delinquency relationship and analyzes whether this conditioning effect varies by gender. Using data from 1,015 Chinese students in Hong Kong, negative binominal regression models found that self-control is a gender-specific conditioning factor of strain. Self-control mitigates the effects of certain strains on delinquency for females only. Yet, unexpectedly, coercive parenting decreases male delinquency and moderates the impact of low self-control in males. The implications of Chinese cultural forces for the perception of strain and the conditioning influence of self-control merit closer attention.