Effects of Hurricane Katrina and Other Adverse Life Events on Adolescent Female Offenders: A Test of General Strain Theory Angela R. Robertson 1 , Judith A. Stein 2 , and Lacey Schaefer-Rohleder 3 1 Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 2 Center for Collaborative Research on Drug Abuse, Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 3 School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH Abstract This study tested Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST) by examining the roles of anger, anxiety, and maladaptive coping in mediating the relationship between strain and three outcomes (serious delinquency, minor delinquency, and continued involvement in the juvenile justice system) among adolescent female offenders (N = 261). Strains consisted of adverse life events and exposure to Hurricane Katrina. Greater exposure to Hurricane Katrina was directly related to serious delinquency and maladaptive coping. Hurricane Katrina also had an indirect effect on minor delinquency and Post–Katrina juvenile justice involvement mediated through maladaptive coping. Adverse life events were associated with increased anger, anxiety, and maladaptive coping. Anger mediated the relationship between adverse life events and serious delinquency. Anxiety mediated the relationship between adverse life events and minor delinquency. Maladaptive coping strategies were associated with minor delinquency and juvenile justice involvement. Findings lend support to GST. Keywords Hurricane Katrina; female juvenile offenders; General Strain Theory; maladaptive coping Considerable research has investigated the propensity for deviance, recognizing the integral role of childhood events. The relationship of childhood adversity as a precursor to juvenile delinquency is well established (Holsinger and Holsinger 2005; Rebellon and Van Gundy 2005; Siegel and Williams 2003; Stouthamer-Loeber et al. 2001). However, more research is needed to identify critical mediators of the relationship between various stressors and delinquent behaviors. The current study uses General Strain Theory (GST; Agnew 1992, 2001) to examine the connections between Hurricane Katrina, other adverse life events, and female delinquency. As a group, female adolescent offenders have been exposed to the types of strain that generate a delinquent response (Agnew 2001) such as victimization and multiple trauma exposure (Acoca and Dedel 1998; Dixon, Howie, and Starling 2005; Smith, Leve, and Chamberlain 2006). The current study tests GST by examining the roles of anger, anxiety, and maladaptive coping in mediating the relationship between Hurricane Katrina, other adverse life events, and various indicators of delinquency. © The Author(s) 2010 Corresponding Author: Angela R. Robertson, 1 Research Blvd., Starkville, MS 39759, USA angela.robertson@ssrc.msstate.edu. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article. NIH Public Access Author Manuscript J Res Crime Delinq. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 May 11. Published in final edited form as: J Res Crime Delinq. 2010 November 1; 47(4): 469–495. doi:10.1177/0022427810375577. NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript