When does career strain reduce delinquency? Friendship concern in Hong Kong

Strain does not necessarily lead to delinquency. Its impact depends on the value of the unachieved goal, according to the thesis of adaptation in strain theory. When alternative goals are salient, the strain may even reduce delinquency. For instance, a young person's concern for friendship diminishes the importance of strain in connection with career achievement. To test this, the present study employed longitudinal data collected from 137 Hong Kong Chinese youths identified as at risk of delinquency by the outreaching social work service. For these youths, earlier career strain had a minimal impact on delinquency later. Furthermore, when the youths reported high concern for friendship, earlier career strain reduced delinquency significantly. The findings thus uphold this important prediction of strain theory. © 2005 A B Academic Publishers.