Examining Sexual Identity in the Context of General Strain Theory, School-Based Strain, Depression, and Delinquency

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current study expands on existing scholarship by exploring General Strain Theory to understand the relationships between school-based strain (feeling isolated at school and having trouble with people at school) and delinquency while considering the mediating role of depression among gay/lesbian, bisexual, mostly heterosexual, and heterosexual youth. Using the restricted Add Health data (N = 10,897) findings indicated that gay/lesbian youth report more delinquency than heterosexual youth and bisexual youth, yet mostly heterosexual youth report the highest levels of delinquency. Inconsistent with General Strain Theory’s predictions, depression did not mediate the relationship between school-based strain and delinquency when controlling for sexual identity. Further, our results suggested that certain school-based strains are predictive of delinquency for certain sexual identity groups (heterosexual and bisexual) but not others (mostly heterosexual and gay/lesbian). This work highlights the need for intersectional theoretical extensions, policy applications, and more research on strains, emotions, and delinquency to unravel the nuances of these relationships among the LGBTQ+ community.