CHARACTER TRAITS (TOUGH MINDNESS AND AGGRESSION) AND STRESS AS PREDICTORS OF ALCOHOL USE AMONG POLICE OFFICERS IN IBADAN METROPOLIS
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATUREREVIEW
- The Concept of Stress at theWorkplace
McGrath 1976, state that stress is an imprecise term. It is usually defined in terms of internal and external conditions that create stressful situations, and the symptoms that people experience when they are stressed. Hence there is a potential for stress when an environmental situation is perceived as presenting a demand that threatens to exceed the person’s capabilities and resources for meeting it, under conditions where he expects a substantial differential in the rewards and costs from meeting the demand versus not meeting it.
McGrath’s definition implies that the degree of stress is correlated with a person’s perceived inability to deal with an environmental demand. This would lead to the conclusion that a person’s level of stress depends on their self-perceived abilities and self-confidence. Moreover stress was correlated with a person’s fear of failure.
Arnold and Feldman 1986 define stress as “the reactions of individuals to new or threatening factors in their work environment”. Since our work environments often contain new situations, this definition suggests that stress in inevitable. This definition also highlights the fact that reactions to stressful situations are individualized, and can result in emotional, perceptual, behavioral, and physiological changes.
- The Signs and Symptoms ofStress
Selye (1946) was the first to describe the phases that the body goes through in responsetoathreat.Thegeneraladaptationsyndromemodelstatesthatthebody passes through three stages. The first stage is an alarm reaction. The body prepares for a potential emergency. Digestion slows down, the heart beats faster, blood vessels dilate, blood pressure rises, and breathing becomes rapid and deep. The second stage is resistance where all bodily systems work together to provide maximum energy for fight or flight. The body becomes habituated to the effects of the stressor, however, the bodies adaptive energies are being used as a shield against thestressor.
The third stage is exhaustion. When the body’s adaptive energies are depleted, the symptoms of the alarm reaction reappear, and the stress manifests itself as an illness, such as ulcers, heart ailments, and high blood pressure. During the first or second stages, the removal of the stressor will eliminate the symptoms. Job stress can have a substantial negative effect on physical and emotional health. Williams and Huber (1986) provide a comprehensive list of the symptoms of stress.
These are: “constant fatigue, low energy level, recurring headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, chronically bad breath, sweaty hands or feet, dizziness, high blood pressure, pounding heart, constant inner tension, inability to sleep, temper outbursts, hyperventilation, moodiness, irritability and restlessness, inability to concentrate, increased aggression, compulsive eating, chronic worrying, anxiety or apprehensiveness, inability to relax, growing feelings of inadequacy, increase in defensiveness, dependence on tranquilizers, excessive use of alcohol, and excessive smoking.” Furthermore, job stress can make people more susceptible to major illnesses. High stress managers are twice as prone to heart attacks as low stress managers (Rosenman and Friedman, 1971).
Excessive job-related stress is not a small or isolated problem. Over one-third of all American workers thought about quitting their jobs in 1990. One-third believes they will burn-out in the near future, and one-third feels that job stress is the single greatest source of stress in their lives. Nearly three-fourths of all workers feel that job stress lowers their productivity, and they experience health problems as a consequence. (Lawless, 1991, 1992) Furthermore, this is not exclusively a United States phenomenon. A Japanese poll conducted by the Health and Welfare Ministry in 1988 indicated that 45 percent of workers felt stress from their jobs (Asahi News Service,1990).
- What are the Causes of OccupationalStress
Stressors can be divided into those that arise from within an individual (internal), and those that are attributable to the environment (external). Internal conflicts, non- specific fears, fears of inadequacy, and guilt feelings are examples of stressors that do not depend on the environment. Internal sources of stress can arise from an individual’s perceptions of an environmental threat, even if no such danger actually exists. Environmental stressors are external conditions beyond an individual’s control. Bhagat (1983) has reported that work performance can be seriously impaired by external stressors. There are many aspects of organizational life that can become external stressors. These include issues of structure, management’s use of authority, monotony, a lack of opportunity for advancement, excessive responsibilities, ambiguous demands, value conflicts, and unrealistic workloads. A person’s non- working life (e.g., family, friends, health, and financial situations) can also contain stressors that negatively impact jobperformance.
Albrecht (1979) argues that nearly all stressors are emotionally induced. These are based on people’s expectations, or “the belief that something terrible is about to happen.” Thus, emotionally induced stress arises from one’s imagination. Albrecht believes that our society’s number one health problem is anxiety, and that emotionally induced stress can be classified into four categories: (1) time stress, (2) anticipatory stress, (3) situational stress, and (4) encounter stress. Time stress is always created by a real or imaginary deadline. Anticipatory stress is created when a person perceives that an upcoming event will be unpleasant. Situational stress can occur when a person is in an unpleasant situation, and they worry about what will happen next. Encounter stress is created by contact with other people (both pleasant and unpleasant).
Many situations in organizational life can be stressful. These include: (1) problems with the physical environment, such as poor lighting or excessive nose, () problems with the quality of work such, as lack of diversity, an excessive pace, or too little work, (3) role ambiguities or conflicts in responsibilities, (4) relationships with supervisors, peers, and subordinates, and (5) career development stressors, such as lack of job security, perceived obsolescence, and inadequate advancement.
Adverse working conditions, such as excessive noise, extreme temperatures, or overcrowding, can be a source of job-related stress (McGrath, 1978). Reitz (1987) reported that workers on “swing shifts” experience more stress than other workers. Orth-Gomer (1986) concludes that when three shifts are used to provide around-the- clock production, major disturbances in people may be unavoidable. One source of environmental stress ignored in the organizational literature is non-natural electromagnetic radiation. Becker (1990) reported that the two most prominent effects of electromagnetic radiation are stress and cancers. Modern offices are filled with electronic devices that produce high levels of radiation. These include computers, video monitors, typewriters, fluorescent lights, clocks, copying machines, faxes, electric pencil sharpeners, and a host of other electronic devices. Human sensitivity to electromagnetic fields is well-documented, and the design of future office equipment will most likely involve a consideration of emittedradiation.
Arnold and Feldman (1986) emphasize the deleterious effects of role ambiguity, conflict, overload and under-load. Role ambiguity is often the result of mergers, acquisitions and restructuring, where employees are unsure of their new job responsibilities. Role conflict has been categorized into two types: inter-sender and intra-sender (Kahn, et al., 1964). Inter-sender role conflict can occur when workers perceive that two different sources are generating incompatible demands or expectations. Intra-sender role conflict can arise when workers perceive conflicting demands from the same source.
Overload is frequently created by excessive time pressures, where stress increases as a deadline approaches, and then rapidly subsides. Under-load is the result of an insufficient quantity, or an inadequate variety of work. Both overload and under-load can result in low self-esteem and stress related symptoms, however, under-load has also been associated with passivity and general feelings of apathy (Katz and Kahn, 1978).
Poor interpersonal relationships are also a common source of stress in organizations. Arnold and Feldman (1986) cite three types of interpersonal relationships that can evoke a stress reaction: (1) too much prolonged contact with other people, (2) too much contact with people from other departments, and (3) an unfriendly or hostile organizational climate.
Personal factors are often a source of stress. These include career related concerns, such as job security and advancement, as well as financial and family concerns. Holmes and Rahe (1967) constructed a scale of forty-three life events, and rated them according to the amount of stress they produce. The most notable feature of their instrument is that many positive life changes (i.e., marriage, Christmas, vacations, etc.) are substantial sources of stress. Generally, stress appears to be a result of any change in one's dailyroutine.
French, Kast, and Rosenzweig (1985) believe that any situation that requires a behavioral adjustment is a source of stress. However, a situation that is stressful for one person might not be stressful for another. Older workers seem to be less strongly affected by stressful situations. (Parasuraman and Alutto, 1984) Individuals with high self-esteem and a tolerance for ambiguity are less prone to stress-related illnesses (Arnold and Feldman, 1986). There is also considerable evidence that a person’s susceptibility to stress is dependent on their personality types. Type A personalities (those that seek out fast-paced, challenging situations) often react to stress with hostility and anger, while Type B personalities seem to be have an immunity to the same stressors (Albrecht, 1979; Friedman and Rosenman, 1974; Matthews, 1982; Organ,1979).
Several studies have found that individuals, who believe they have control over their own fate (internals), perceive less stress in their work than those who believe their future is determined by other factors (externals). Genmill and Heisler (1972) reported that “internals” had more job satisfaction and perceived their jobs as less stressful than “externals”. They also found that manager’s perceived stress was unrelated to education, length of time in their career, or their level in the hierarchy. Another study looked at managers of businesses in a community that had recently been destroyed by a hurricane (Anderson, Hellriegel, and Slocum, 1977). These researchers found that “internals” experienced less stress from the catastrophe, and that their perceived locus of control was a more important factor than their insurance coverage, the amount of the loss, or the duration that the company was out of business. Lawless (1992) reports that “. . . job stress is a consequence of two key ingredients: a high level of job demands and little control over one'swork.”
Some studies have reported that males seem to be more prone to stress-related illness than females. Men report more ulcers and have a higher rate of heart attacks than women (Albrecht, 1979). Other studies have found no differences. Friedman and Rosenman (1974) found that Type A women suffered from cardiovascular diseases and heart attacks as often as their male counterparts. Women in managerial positions suffer heart attacks at the same rate as men in similar positions. (Albrecht, 1979) In a recent study, Lawless (1992) reported that women suffered fifteen percent more stress related illnesses than men. They also thought about quitting their jobs more often, and reported a higher incidence of burnout. Lawless proposed that this is the resultofunequalpayscalesandafailureoforganizationstoadoptpoliciessensitive to family issues. As more women enter the work force, the effects on their health are becoming increasingly apparent. It may be that past differences between males and females are the result of their experience in the work force, and unrelated to gender.
- The Impact of OccupationalStress
Stress, both work and non-work-related, can have a profound effect on an organizational climate and morale. For most people, a moderate amount of stress can be beneficial (positive stress). But when pressure and stress reach a level where an individual struggles to cope, both mental and physical changes can occur. There are numerous negative stressors impacting today’s workforce. Things like job security fears, increased workloads and extended work hours can all result in negative stress. Some of the outcomes of stress on an organization can include employee job dissatisfaction, employee turnover, tough mindness, reduced performance and lack of productivity and efficiency.
For most organizations, great attention is paid to employee morale and workforce engagement levels. If the majority of employees are experiencing negative levels of stress, things like teamwork and effective communications suffer. Many companies conduct yearly employee opinion surveys to measure engagement. There is usually significant correlation between the current climate in an organization and survey scoring. During times of uncertainty (business optimization initiatives resulting in lay-offs), not surprisingly, scores in areas like motivation and company commitment are very low. Conversely, during positive times (company reaches financial targets resulting in incentive payments for staff); survey scores are considerably more favorable. Overall, manageable levels of stress in an organization will translate into higher employee morale and job satisfaction.
Regarding stress and employee tough mindness from a disability management standpoint, the duration of absences due to stress is often much greater than absences from other causes. Employees often return to work four weeks after breaking a bone while employees on stress leaves cab ne tough minded for months. Stress can also manifest itself in suppressed immune function resulting in susceptibility to viral and bacterial infections. The negative impacts resulting from worker tough mindness are far-reaching.
In the customer service industry, there seems to be a vicious circle when it comes to individual stress impacting team stress, which in turn impacts stress on the customer. Employees working short staffed due to employee tough mindness are under pressure. Being short staffed can cause employee irritability and conflict and increased delays in customer service for customers. This in turn results in lower customer satisfaction levels which ultimately negatively affect the company’s bottom line. Stress can therefore significantly impact the profitability of an organization.
Management representatives routinely observe lowered individual performance due to stress which subsequently negatively affects the overall team performance. Stress causes memory impairment, less effective decision making and from a health and safety standpoint, increased accidents in the workplace. Employee situations requiring discipline to improve performance can cause stress resulting in the opposite effect. If an employee is facing a suspension or termination due to repeated offences, you often see even poorer performance as employees feel the impending discipline looming over their head. Many companies have identified that as an organization, they need to focus on coaching and positive reinforcement to give employees every opportunity to be successful. Stress management is essential to improve overall organizationalperformance.
Another impact of stress on an organization is reduced productivity and efficiency. Although the effect of tough mindness is obvious, reduced productivity and efficiency can also result when a workforce is experiencing negative stress and pressure. Employees under stress are much less inclined to channel energy into continuous improvement initiatives or creative problem solving pursuits. While in self- preservation mode when dealing with stress, individuals tend to spend their time and energy doing the bare minimum to keep up. As well, an over-stressed team will have less energy to begin with as studies have shown that stress depletes energy stores and a person’s physical and mental capabilities. Often greater demands are placed on workers in today’s competitive marketplace. For example, in the customer service and entertainment industry, there is no shortage of options for people to spend their disposable income. And in today’s economic climate, companies are expected to try to do more with less. Although profitability is the focus, this pursuit cannot be to the detriment of the workforce. Putting too much pressure and stress on staff to perform will ultimately have the opposite affect (i.e. burn-out, conflict and incidents of workplace aggression).
2.5 PoliceStress, Depression, andSubstanceUse
Working in the field of law enforcement is significantly more stressful than manyother professions (Anshel, 2000; Bishopp & Boots, 2014; Gershon et al., 2002; Gibson etal., 2001; Moon & Jonson, 2012; Swatt et al., 2007; Wang et al., 2010).Interestingly,some researchers (Bishopp & Boots, 2014; Moon & Jonson, 2012; Swatt et al., 2007)argue that stress is a natural and unavoidable aspect of policing as officers frequentlyencounter significant forms of strain that other occupations rarely experience.Since thepolice profession is inherently stressful, it is common for officers to report a variety ofhealth problems.The fight-or-flight mode is activated when police officers experiencestress, in which the body releases an excess of cortisol.Indeed, the mere potential ofexperiencing stressful workplace events is enough to flood the body with cortisol for anindeterminate amount of time, even when no danger is present.Adverse biological andpsychological health outcomes result when cortisol levels do not return to baselinefunctioning (Akinola & Mendes, 2012; Anshel, 2000; Hickman, Fricas, Strom, & Pope,2011).
Depression is frequently cited as an adverse psychological health outcome ofstraininexistingpoliceliterature.Depressionisincreasinglyregarded asanabnormality
of stress adaptation systems in the brain.Strain disrupts police officers’ neuroendocrinesystems, which could lead to the development of a depressive disorder.Rates andsymptoms of depression have been observed at a higher rate among police officerscompared to the general public (Wang et al., 2010).For example, a longitudinal studyconducted by Wang et al. (2010) determined that police recruits who experienced greaterperceived work stress demonstrated greater levels of depression symptoms after their firstyear of service.Additionally, a higher prevalence of depressive symptomatology wasobserved among police officers who experienced chronic workplace violence in anotherstudy (Lee et al., 2014).Other empirical findings revealed that depression wassignificantlyassociated withcriticalincidents, organizationalfactors (e.g.,poorcooperation, inequality) (Gershon et al., 2002), negative work characteristics (e.g.,demand, effort, consultation on change, over-commitment), limited positive work factors(e.g., reward, control), and inadequate work support (e.g., colleague support, supervisorsupport, supervisor relationship, bullying) (Nelson & Smith, 2016) among police officers.In order to alleviate felt strain, police officers frequently use a range of cognitive,behavioral,andemotional coping strategies.
Substanceuseis frequentlyidentifiedinexistingpoliceliteratureasamaladaptivecoping strategy employed by officers to deliberately or inadvertently regulate negativeemotional states produced by strain (Dietrich & Smith, 1986; Smith et al., 2005).In theirstudy on occupational stress and non-medical use of drugs and alcohol among policeofficers, Dietrich and Smith (1986) suggested that substances are “not only used but verymuchaccepted asawayof copingwith tensions and stressesof theday”(p.304).
Indeed,thepervasivenessofsubstanceuse amongpoliceofficersindirectresponseto
strainiswell-documentedacrosshistoricalandinternationalboundaries,inwhichseveralstudies (Chopko et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2005; Swatt et al., 2007) concluded that thispopulation used substances at a higher rate compared to the general public.Althoughstimulants (i.e., caffeine, nicotine, sugar) and depressants (i.e., alcohol, barbiturates,benzodiazepines, cannabis, opioids) are among the most common substances used bypolice officers to manage depression and anxiety (Amaranto et al., 2003), most existingpolice literature discussed the prevalence, predictors, or outcomes of problematic alcoholconsumption.For example, Ballenger et al. (2011) evaluated the patterns and predictorsof alcohol use in a sample of 747 urban police officers.Results revealed that policeofficers were more likely to binge-drink than the general public, with female officersbeingtwo to threetimesmorelikely.
In another large cross-sectional study, Richmond et al. (1998) examined genderdifferenceswithrespectto alcohol useamong asampleofAustralian police officers.
Results indicated that 48% of males and 40% of females consumed alcohol excessively.Additionally, police officers between 18 and 39 years of age had a greater risk ofdeveloping binge-drinking behaviors.Violanti et al. (2011) investigated alcohol usecorrelates and psychological outcomes of stress related to the use and level of alcoholamong a sample of 115 police officers.Results suggested that 63.9% of the sampleexceeded the World Health Organization’s (WHO) daily recommended amount ofalcohol.A cross-sectional study conducted by Davey et al. (2000) explored theprevalence of alcohol use among a sample of 4,193 police officers from an Australianstatepoliceservice.Resultsdemonstratedthatpoliceofficersreportedgreaterquantitiesofalcohol consumptionthan thegeneral public.Morespecifically, 35%ofboth males
andfemalesparticipatedinbinge-drinking,whichwerehigherratesthanthosereportedin previous studies using the WHO criterion at that time.Alarmingly, 26% of the samplereporteddrinkingwhileon-duty.Likewise, astudy byVanRaalte(1979)determined that67%of policeofficersworkingthenight shift reporteddrinking alcohol whileon-duty.
Undoubtedly, police officers who do not utilize effective coping strategies tolessen strain are at an increased risk of developing depressive and substance usedisorders.Considering the impact of police stress on officer safety and public health,understanding how officers respond to strain is crucial.Despite the plethora of existingpolice literature discussing the adverse outcomes of strain, studies rarely progressedbeyond the simple risk factor approach.The lack of theoretically-informed researchexamining the causal links that underlie strain, depression, and substance use amongpolice officers do not allow researchers and practitioners to create effective strainprevention,intervention,andtrainingprograms(Swattetal.,2007). Ifthereisanyhopeto extend our understanding of how these constructs interact, it is essential to examinethem using theory.Agnew’s (1992) general strain theory (GST) may provide such aframework.
2.7 TheoreticalFramework
History of general strain theory. The origin of strain theory dates back to EmileDurkheim’s(1893)conceptofanomie.Durkheim(1893)describedanomieasacondition of instability due to the breakdown of social and moral norms, values, andstructures because of the rapid social changes accompanied by the modernization process.He argued that the collapse of moral guidance cultivated various social problems, likedeviance,socialunrest,unhappiness,andstress(Durkheim,1893).Robert Merton(1938)
modified the anomie concept in his theory of structural strain based on individual goalsand American culture.Merton (1938) argued that American culture valued monetarysuccess and instituted means in which individuals must achieve these goals.Anomieoccurred when there was a discrepancy between valued goals (e.g., wealth, money,success) and legitimate means to obtain those goals (e.g., education, career, middle-classvalues).Merton (1938) proposed five modes of adaptation (i.e., conformity, innovation,ritualism, retreatism, rebellion) that acted as a mechanism to manage strain associatedwith anomie, where individuals accepted or rejected the culturally prescribed goals andinstitutionalized means of society (Merton, 1938; Parnaby & Leyden, 2011).Messnerand Rosenfeld (2001) published Crime and the American Dream, which expanded andpartially reformulated Merton’s (1938) institutional anomie theory.Messner andRosenfeld argued that an imbalance in the institutional structure prevented socialinstitutions (e.g., family, education, political systems, economy) from protectingindividuals from the criminogenic pressures of the American Dream (Pratt & Cullen,2005).Despite Messner and Rosenfeld’s (2001) efforts to narrow anomie to explainindividualfactors,it largelyremainedan explanationofstructural-level influences.
Classicstraintheorists(e.g.,Cloward&Ohlin,1960;Cohen,1955;Merton,1938)focused exclusively on the failure to achieve positively valued goals and goal blockagecommonly experienced by lower-class individuals in American society (Agnew, 1992;Agnew & White, 1992).Although classicstrain theoriesremained popular into the1970s, they had very little impact on criminology until the work of Agnew (1985, 1989,1992) emerged (Swatt et al., 2007).Agnew (1985) extended classic strain theory byproposingthatinaddition togoalblockage,delinquency andcrimeoccurredbecauseof
theinabilitytoescapefrom painfuloraversivecircumstances.Hearguedthat theblockage of pain-avoidance behavior caused frustration, resulting in subsequentdelinquentbehavior (Agnew, 1985).
Agnew (1985) outlined significant limitations of earlier strain theories.Heassertedthatthemostdamagingcriticismofearlierstraintheorieswasthe researchonthedisjunction between aspirations and expectations.If Agnew were correct, delinquencywould be greatest when aspirations were high, and expectations were low.Numerousstudies tested this idea, yet most failed to find support for strain theory.Indeed, manystudies concluded that delinquency was highest when both aspirations and expectationswere low, and delinquency was lowest when both aspirations and expectations were high.Agnew (1985) also criticized the assertion that delinquency was restricted to the lower-class due to limited means of achieving economic success or middle-class status.Agnew(1985) cited data suggesting that delinquency was common in the middle-class and thatthe relationship between class and certain types of delinquency was negligible.Finally,Agnew (1985) criticized earlier strain theories for their failure to explain decreases indelinquency as chronological age increased.More specifically, early theories could notexplain why delinquents abandoned crime in late adolescence or went for long periods oftimewithout engaging in delinquentbehaviors (Agnew, 1985).
Agnew(1985) addressedtheselimitationsbyexaminingtherelationshipsbetweenaversive situations and delinquency among a sample of 2,213 boys.More specifically,the associations among aversive station and family environments, social control,subcultural deviance, and delinquency were assessed using data collected from the YouthinTransition survey.Agnew(1985)hypothesizedthat when controllingforsocial control and subcultural deviance, aversive station and family environments would have adirecteffectondelinquencyandanindirecteffect ondelinquencythroughanger.Resultsrevealed that aversive station and family environments directly and indirectly influenceddelinquency via anger.In this regard, Agnew (1985) argued that both goal blockage andinabilityto escapefrom painfulor aversivecircumstances weresources of strain.
Agnew (1989) examined the relationships between environmental adversity anddelinquencyamongasampleof1,886boys.Inparticular,self-reporteddelinquencywasassessed with longitudinal survey data that included information on negative stationattitudes, parental punitiveness, and mean police man scales.Using structural equationmodeling (SEM), Agnew (1989) hypothesized that environmental adversity would fosterdelinquency by causing individuals to illegally escape or attack the source of adversity;angering youth to the point that they expressed their anger onto others; and decreasingsocial control.Results indicated that environmental adversity affected delinquency,whileoccasionaldelinquencyalso affectedenvironmentaladversity (Agnew,1989).
Using results from his earlier studies (1985, 1989) as a base, Agnew (1992)proposed a general theory of crime that explained strain at the individual-level (SeeFigure 1).GST was introduced as a social-psychological approach of delinquency andcrimethatfocusedonindividualsand theirimmediatesocialenvironment(Agnew, 1992;Agnew & White, 1992).GST assumed that individuals were pressured into delinquencyandcrimevianegativeemotionalstates,particularlyanger andrelatedemotionsresultingfrom negative relationships (Agnew, 1992).Additionally, GST outlined various formsandcharacteristics ofstrain, strainthat fostereddelinquency andcrime, negative emotionalstates,copingstrategies,andfactorsthatinfluencedcriminalcoping(Agnew,2006).
Types of strains. Strain was defined as an event or condition that was disliked byindividuals (Agnew, 2006).Agnew (1992) outlined three major categories of strain thatreferenced different types of negative relationships with others, including “otherindividuals may (1) prevent one from achieving positively valued goals, (2) remove orthreaten to remove positively valued stimuli that one possesses, or (3) present or threatentopresent one with noxious or negativelyvalued stimuli”(p. 50).
Actual or anticipated failure to achieve positively valued stimuli. Severalsubtypes of strain were included in the first category of strain, namely “strain as thedisjunction between (1) aspirations and expectations/actual achievements, (2)expectations and actual achievements, and (3) just/fair outcomes and actual outcomes”(Agnew, 1992, p. 56).Strain measured in terms of the disjunction between aspirationsand expectations/actual achievements highlighted ideal goals as they related to monetarysuccessandsocialclass.Although,classicstraintheoryconcentratedonseveralsubtypesof strainasa failure toachieve positivelyvaluedgoals,mostearlytheorists(e.g.,Cloward & Ohlin, 1960; Cohen, 1955; Merton, 1938) investigated strain as thedisjunction between aspirations and expectations/actual achievements, claiming that itwasprimarily responsiblefordelinquencyandcrime (Agnew, 1992).
Agnew(1992)extended classicstraintheorybyproposingthatinadditiontoidealandfuturegoals,currentgoalsmustalsobeconsidered.AgnewandWhite(1992)arguedthat the failure to achieve positively valued goals was better assessed in terms of thedisjunctionbetween(a)expectationsandactualachievementsand(b)just/fairoutcomes and actual outcomes.For example, they claimed that expectations were derived frompastexperiencesand/orcomparisonswithsimilarothers.Failuretoachieveexpectationscontributed to feelings of anger, resentment, rage, dissatisfaction, disappointment, andunhappiness (Agnew, 1992).Furthermore, Agnew (1992) suggested that individualsexpected distributive justice rules (i.e., interactions will conform to the justice principle)to be followed and had specific outcomes in mind during social interactions.Outcomeswere comprised of positive and negative consequences, while inputs encompassedpositive and negative contributions in a relationship.Outcomes were evaluated asjust/fair or unjust/unfair based on the output/input ratio of those involved in therelationship.Unjust/unfair outcomes were associated with negative emotional states,such as anger and resentment.In this regard, individuals focused their goals andachievements on specific outcomes and compared those with similar others during socialinteractionsto determineifoutcomes werejust/fair(Agnew, 1992).
Actual or anticipated removal of positively valued stimuli. The removal orthreatened removal of positively valued stimuli occurred when an individual lostsomethingtheyvalued(lostsomethinggood)orvaluedstimuliweretakenawayandwasrelatedtoone’s experienceswithstressfullifeevents(Agnew, 2006;Akers,2000).
Examples of strain as the removal of positively valued stimuli included the loss of asignificant other, death or serious illness of a loved one, divorce/separation of one’sparents, leaving one’s neighborhood, and suspension from station (Agnew, 1992; Agnew& White, 1992).According to Agnew (1992), delinquency occurred when an individualattemptedtopreventthelossofpositive stimuli,retrievetheloststimuli,obtainsubstitute stimuli, seek revenge against those responsible for the loss, and/or manage negativeemotionalstates produced by the loss byusing illicit drugs.
Actual or anticipated presentation of negatively valued stimuli. Agnew (1992)argued that the presentation or threatened presentation of negatively valued stimulicultivateddelinquencyandcrimeinparticularsituations.Thepresentationofnegativelyvalued stimuli occurred when individuals were treated in an aversive or negative way byothers (received something bad) (Agnew, 2006).Examples of strain as the presentationof noxious or negatively valued stimuli included child abuse and neglect, negativerelations with parents and peers, verbal insults and threats, or other adverse experiences(Agnew, 1992; Agnew & White, 1992).Individuals attempted to escape from or avoidthe noxious stimuli, terminate or alleviate the noxious stimuli, seek revenge against thesources of the noxious stimuli or associated targets, and/or manage negative emotionalstatesproduced by thenoxious stimuli byusing illicit drugs(Agnew, 1992).
Measurement of Strains. Agnew (1992) argued that it was essential to properlymeasureeach typeof strainwhen testing predictionsof GST.SinceGST is muchbroaderthan current strain theories, measuring strain required at least three sets of measures,including those that focused on the (1) failure to achieve positively valued goals, (2) lossof positive stimuli, and (3) presentation of negative stimuli.Agnew (1992) did notprovide precise measures to assess these areas; however, he offered general guidelines forthemeasurement of strain.
Develop a comprehensive list of negative relations. Agnew (1992) posited thatresearchers must pull from theory and research to identify objective strains generallyexpectedto causeadversitysinceindividualsvaryintheirperceptionsofstrains.When developing inventories of strainful events, researchers were cautioned that importantgroup differences may exist in the types of strain or negative relations frequentlyencountered.In thisregard,Agnew(1992)urged researcherstoinvestigatefactorsthatmaycauseonegroup to experiencean eventas stressful whileothers do not.
Examine the cumulative impact of negative relations. Agnew (2006) argued thatdelinquency and crime were especially likely when individuals encountered two or morestrains in a short period of time.Individuals who encountered multiple strains at oncewere more likely to experience negative emotional states, taxing their ability to cope in alegal manner.Since it is common for strains to occur together, Agnew (1992) advisedresearchers to use a composite index of strain in all analyses or explore the interactionsamongthestrain measures.
Examinethemagnitude,recency,duration,andclusteringofadverseevents.
Agnew (1992) urged researchers to consider adverse events that were high in magnitude,recent, of long duration, and clustered in time.The meaning of magnitude varied basedon the type of strain under investigation.In terms of goal blockage, magnitude referredto the size of gap between individual goals and reality.Specific to the loss of positivestimuli, magnitude referred to the amount lost.With respect to the presentation ofnoxiousstimuli,magnitudereferred tothedegreeofpainor discomfortinflicted.Agnew(1992) noted that individual perceptions of strain must be considered since there was nostandardmetricavailableformeasuring magnitude.
According to Agnew (1992), recency of adverse events was an importantdimension to consider as well as those of long duration (i.e., chronic stressors) orexpectedtopersistintothefuture.Sincestrainfuleventsclusteredcloselyintimewere morelikelytooverwhelmcopingresources andhavelargereffectsonnegativeoutcomes,theymust alsobe considered inthemeasurementofstrain (Agnew, 1992).
Negative Emotional States. Each type of strain increased the possibility thatindividuals would experience a range of negative emotional states, such as anger,frustration, jealousy, malicious envy, depression, fear, shame, and alienation (Agnew,1992; Agnew, 2006; Agnew & White, 1992; Swatt et al., 2007).These negativeemotionalstatesproducedpressureforcorrective actiontoreduceoreliminatefeltstrain.In other words, negative emotional states prepared individuals to engage in variouscoping strategies to lessen negative affect produced by strain (Swatt et al., 2007).Thesenegative emotional states also decreased the ability to legally cope and reduced theperceived costs of crime, all of which created a disposition for delinquency and crime(Agnew, 2006).Although negative emotional states involved the negative assessment ofan event or condition, they were distinguished from each other based on feelings ofpowerorpotency and level of activity (Agnew, 2006).