The study examined how police legitimacy and stressful life events mediate the relationships between relationship strain/depression and rule-violating behaviors in juveniles. Data from 501 youth found both hypotheses supported: police legitimacy and life stressors fully mediated the impacts of relationship strain and depression on rule-violating behaviors. This implies that to reduce juvenile rule-breaking, law enforcement should focus on building community relationships and considering youth stressors and mental health.

1. General Strain and Depression in Predicting Juvenile Rule Violating Behaviors
and the Mediating Effects of Police Legitimacy and Stressful Life Events
Tessa Smith & Chad Roberge
Advisors: Ellen S. Cohn, Ph.D. & Alexander Blandina, M.A.
Hypotheses
Results
Discussion
Method
Introduction
● General Strain Theory (GST)1,5,9 argues perceptions of injustice leads to Rule
Violating Behavior (RVB)
● Depression7,9 is positively correlated with RVB
■ Relationship strain - Variable scale generated to assess GST
■ Depression symptomatology is identified by overall negative emotions3
■ Rule violating behaviors (RVB) - Any antisocial behavior including
delinquent acts
● However, potential variables may mediate both correlated relations towards RVB
○ Police legitimacy - positive or negative perception of law enforcement and its
right to exercise authority over them
■ Depression predicts negative evaluations of surrounding environments (i.e.,
police interactions, others’ intentions, etc.)3
■ GST focuses on adolescents’ perception of parents, teachers, and peers1
● Perceptions of police not considered
■ Positive attitudes towards law enforcement correlate negatively with RVB6
○ Stressful Life Events
■ GST theorizes a positive relation with Stressful Life Events1
■ Stressful life events increase the likelihood that an adolescent will engage
in RVB2,4
■ Increased depression relates to increased stress sensitivity8
● Hypothesis 1: The relationship between relationship strain and rule violating behaviors will be
mediated by police legitimacy and stressful life events.
● Hypothesis 2: The relationship between depression and rule violating behaviors will be mediated by
police legitimacy and stressful life events.
References
1 Agnew, R. (1992). Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology, 30(1), 47-88.
doi:10.1111/j.1745- 9125.1992.tb01093.x
2 Aseltine, R. H. J., Gore, S., & Gordon, J. (2000). Life stress, anger and anxiety, and delinquency: An empirical test of
general strain theory. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41(3), 256-275. doi:10.2307/2676320
3 Gotlib, I. H. (1992). Interpersonal and cognitive aspects of depression. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1(5),
149-154. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20182162
4 Hoffmann, J. P. (2010). A life-course perspective on stress, delinquency, and young adult crime. American Journal of
Criminal Justice, 35(3), 105-120. doi:10.1007/s12103-010-9072-4
5 Hollist, D. R., Hughes, L. A., & Schaible, L. M. (2009). Adolescent maltreatment, negative emotion, and delinquency: An
assessment of general strain theory and family-based strain. Journal of Criminal Justice, 37(4), 379-387. d
oi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.unh.edu/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2009.06.005
6 Levy, K. S. C. (2001). The relationship between adolescent attitudes toward authority, self-concept, and delinquency.
Adolescence, 36(142), 333-346. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2001-18837- 012&site=ehost-live
7 Lincoln, T., Köther, U., Hartmann, M., Kempkensteffen, J., & Moritz, S. (2014). Responses to stress in patients with
psychotic disorders compared to persons with varying levels of vulnerability to psychosis, persons with depression
and healthy controls. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 47, 92-101.
8 Mallett, C. A., Stoddard Dare, P., & Seck, M. M. (2009). Predicting juvenile delinquency: The nexus of childhood
maltreatment, depression and bipolar disorder. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 19(4), 235-246.
doi:10.1002/cbm.737
9 Peck, J. H. (2013). Examining race and ethnicity in the context of general strain theory, depression, and delinquency.
Deviant Behavior, 34(9), 706-726. doi:10.1080/01639625.2012.759050
10 Radloff, L. (1977). "The CES-D Scale: A Self Report Depression Scale for Research in the General." Applied psychological
measurement 1(3): 385-401.
For more information: trg39@wildcats.unh.edu and ctd34@wildcats.unh.edu
● The first hypothesis that police legitimacy and stressful
life events would mediate the relation between
Relationship Strain and RVB was supported.
○ Police legitimacy and life stressors fully mediate
between Relationship Strain and RVB
● The second hypothesis that police legitimacy and
stressful life events would mediate the relation between
depression and RVB was supported
○ Police legitimacy and life stressors fully mediate
between depression and RVB
Implications
● While previous studies found a link between GST and
RVB1,5,9, more specific elements within the general term
of strain mediate this relation
● To properly identify youth committing RVB and to explain
cause, such factors need to be identified and explored
● Law enforcement should seek to form good relationships
with their community, and increase police legitimacy
● Police should consider the publics’ perception of them,
as well as emotional disorders, when interacting with
youth
Limitations and Future Directions
● Data collected was from only one wave in the NHYS
(New Hampshire Youth Survey) which limits the quantity
of data
○ Data should be collected from multiple waves of the
same participants to identify patterns over time
○ Data was cross-sectional; it would be important to
replicate this with longitudinal data
● Other mental disorders were not examined
○ Other mental disorders should be compared to
general strain to see if they have similar results
○ Only one variable used to measure GST, others
should be used in future research
Participants
● 501 participants (42.9% male, 57.1% female)
● 74.9% Caucasian , 4.8% Hispanic
● M age= 13.9
● Subjects gathered as part of an ongoing longitudinal study examining different factors
believed to influence adolescent delinquency
Measures
● Relationship Strain (M= 1.83, SD= .84)
○ “People often break their promises to me.” (6 point Likert scale, 0= Disagree strongly,
4= Agree strongly)
● Depression (M= 1.09, SD=.43)
○ CES-D scale. “In the past 30 days… I felt sad.” (6 point Likert scale, 0= Not at all, 4=
Almost all the time)
○ Inter-rater reliability: r= .597, p < .001 10
● Police Legitimacy (M= 2.81, SD= .44)
○ “The police in your neighborhood are generally honest.” (6 point Likert scale, 0=
Disagree strongly, 4= Agree strongly)
● Stressful Life Events (M=.19, SD= .13)
○ “In the past 6 months… did you drop out of school?” (Yes or no)
● RVB (M= 2.99, SD= 3.72)
○ “In the past six months have you…gotten drunk?”
Procedure
● Data gathered by mass survey sessions in 8 middle and 5 high schools in 4 NH
communities
● Participants given $10 gift card as compensation
Relationship
Strain
Police Legitimacy
Life Stressors
Rule-Violating
Behavior
-.26*** -.24***
.34*** .41***
.08 (.28***)
Depression
Police Legitimacy
Life Stressors
Rule-Violating
Behavior
-.12**
.47***
-.25***
.40***
.08 (.29***)
R² = .30, F(3, 501)=70.30, p >.001
R² = .30, F(3, 497)=69.41, p >.001
*p ≤ .05
**p ≤ .01
*** p ≤ .001
Standardized Beta Coefficients