School "X" a Case Study of Resources, Strain and Delinquency

In the current literature, there has been much written about General Strain Theory (GST) within schools and their relationship is supported somewhat consistently. However, school resources and how it affects current student delinquency is not clear. Using a mixed methods analysis, data were collected at a local high school (School X) in Central New Jersey as an extended case study. The negative affective state of anger in GST as well as delinquency rates and student resources were evaluated to determine a possible relationship. Results indicated resources such as availability of guidance counselors and perceived fairness of school rules were most affected by strain and delinquency. In addition, privacy was found to be a resource valued by the student population. However, anger was found to have no relationship with the other variables. More research with different data will have to be examined to see if this holds true for future testing.