Gendered Pathways to Delinquency: An Examination of General Strain Theory Among South Korean Youth

Abstract

This study examines whether gendered pathways to delinquency posited by general strain theory (GST) operate equivalently for contemporary Korean youth as compared to past studies focused on American youth. The study analyzed longitudinal data from 3,125 South Korean teenagers and revealed some support for GST. The findings suggest that gender equalization transition affected reports of alcohol use but not for aggressive behaviors. The findings also indicate that GST is gender-specific for Korean youth and depends on the type of delinquency, strains, negative emotionality, and conditioning factors. Unlike males, female strains tend to be more psychological and subtle, leading toward deviance through mediation effects of anger and various conditioning factors such as peer delinquency and gender role socialization. The findings also support GST as being applicable to Korean social and cultural contexts, thereby strengthening the theory's generalizability. However, gendered pathways to delinquency in the GST framework may be conditioned by the contemporary Korean cultural context of asymmetric gender equalization transition.