The overall goal of the current study is to investigate the types of strain that are most conducive to crime among a sample of African American women, and the ways in which the subjects respond to the strain. Figure 3.6.1 provides the analytic model for the study. In examining the model, there are several specific questions of the study that should be discussed.
First, the study will answer the question, “Which types of strain are conducive to the women in the sample committing drug related crime?” (RQ1). Hypotheses for this question include: “criminal victimization will be the most conducive to drug crime given that it is an interpersonally related strain and is more likely to lead to self-directed criminal coping, such as drug use” (H1a); “economic hardship will have a significant effect on drug crime given that it is a type of strain that could lead to self-directed deviant coping, such as drug use” (H1b); and “gendered racism will not have an effect on drug crime, since it is more likely to generate other-directed emotions that could lead to other- directed criminal coping” (H1c).
Likewise, the study will answer the question, “Which types of strain are conducive to African American women committing non-drug related crime?” (RQ2). Hypotheses for this question include: “gendered racism will be most conducive to non- drug crime, because it is a type of strain that is most likely connected to other-directed crime” (H2a); “economic hardship will have a significant effect on non-drug related crime given that it is a type of strain that could lead to other-directed deviant coping, such as check fraud or theft” (H2b); and “criminal victimization will not have a significant effect on non-drug related crime” (H2c).
Third, this study will answer the question, “What effects do the types of strain have on the negative emotional states―anger, depression, and anxiety?” (RQ3). Hypotheses for this question include: “depression, a self-directed emotion, will be generated by experiences of economic hardship and criminal victimization, but not by gendered racism experiences” (H3a); anxiety, another self-directed emotion, also will be generated by experiences of economic hardship and criminal victimization among the women, but not by gendered racism” (H3b); and “anger, an other-directed emotion, will be generated by both economic hardship and gendered racism experiences, but not by being a victim of a crime” (H3c).
Fourth, this study will answer the question, “Which negative emotional states have the greatest mediation effects on the relationships between the different types of strain and drug crime among the participants?” (RQ4). Hypotheses for this question include: “anger will not have a mediation effect on the relationship between any of the types strain and drug crime, since it is an other-directed emotion that is not tied to drug related crime” (H4a) and “depression and anxiety will equally have significant mediation effects on the relationship between criminal victimization and drug crime, as well as economic hardship and drug crime” (H4b).
Similarly, this study will answer the question, “Which negative emotional states have the greatest mediation effects on the relationships between the types of strain and non-drug crime among the women in the sample?” (RQ5). Hypotheses for this question include: “Anger will have the greatest mediation effect on the relationship between gendered racism and non-drug crime, and it will also mediate the economic hardship- non-drug crime relationship” (H5a); “anxiety will not mediate the relationships between
gendered racism or criminal victimization and non-drug crime” (H5b); and “depression will not have an effect on any of the types of strain and non-drug crime given that it is a self-directed emotion that leads to self-directed coping behaviors” (H5c).
Next, this study will answer the question, “Which conditioning factors moderate the strain-drug crime relationships among the African American women in the sample?” (RQ6). Three moderating variables will be examined in the study, which will concentrate on the social support systems, coping skills, and spiritual well-being of the women. These factors relate to the criminal coping mechanisms discussed above; however, the focus of the analysis will be, for example, how having healthy coping skills reduces the likelihood of committing crime, rather than how having poor coping skills makes the women more susceptible to crime. Hypotheses include: “higher levels of perceived social support will moderate the effects of economic hardship on drug crime” (H6a); “higher levels of coping skills will moderate the effects of economic hardship on drug crime” (H6b); “being more religious and spiritual will moderate the effects of economic hardship on drug crime” (H6c); “higher levels of perceived social support will moderate the effects of criminal victimization on drug crime” (H6d); “higher levels of coping skills will moderate the effects of criminal victimization on drug crime” (H6e); “being more religious and spiritual will moderate the effects of criminal victimization on drug crime” (H6f).
Finally, this study will answer the question, “Which conditioning factors moderate the strain-non-drug crime relationships among the African American women in the sample?” (RQ7). Hypotheses include: “higher levels of perceived social support will moderate the effects of economic hardship on non-drug crime” (H7a); “higher levels of
coping skills will moderate the effects of economic hardship on non-drug crime” (H7b); “being more religious and spiritual will moderate the effects of economic hardship on non-drug crime” (H7c); “higher levels of perceived social support will moderate the effects of gendered racism on non-drug crime” (H7d); “higher levels of coping skills will moderate the effects of gendered racism on non-drug crime” (H7e); and “being more religious and spiritual will moderate the effects of gendered racism on non-drug crime” (H7f).
3.7 Conclusion
This chapter provided an overview of GST and outlined the aspects of the theory, and related research literature, that are most relevant to the current study. In addition, the study’s research questions were listed, along with hypotheses that corresponded with each of the questions. The next chapter will present the methodology used to empirically test the relationships illustrated in Figure 3.6.1.
53 Independent Variables (T1): Economic Hardship Criminal Victimization Gendered Racism Mediating Variables (T2): Anger Depression Anxiety Dependent Variables (T3): Drug Crime Non-Drug Crime Moderating Variables (T2): Perceived Social Support
Coping Skills Spiritual Well-Being
Control Variables (T1): Age
Years of Education Adjusted Household Income
Drug User Status Recruitment Status
RQ3 RQ4 & RQ5
RQ6 & RQ7 RQ1 & RQ2
Figure 3.6.1: Analytic Model of Study
Chapter Four: Methodology
The preceding two chapters provided the theoretical framework for this study and reviewed the existing literature in relation to strain and crime among African American women. The research questions and hypotheses were described at the end of Chapter 3. This chapter will explain the methodology undertaken to examine those questions and hypotheses, beginning with a description of the study sample.