Ato Infracional na Adolescência: Revisão Integrativa dos Estudos na Perspectiva da Teoria Geral da Tensão

Abstract

The General Strain Theory (GST) argues that situations/circumstances likely to generate tension foster negative emotions which, in turn, may create conditions for adolescents to manifest antissocial behaviours/offenses as a coping strategy and/or as a way to relieve tension. An integrative literature review was conducted, with the objective of systematizing and synthesizing findings of studies, based on the GST, published in the last 11 years, aiming to circumscribe the contributions of this referential. The search was conducted on the Academic Search Premier, Web of Science and PsycINFO, with the keywords "General Strain Theory" AND "Juvenile delinquency". The inclusion criteria were the study has: (1) adolescent target audience; (2) outcome variable "infractions of the law"; (3) GST as referential; (4) being empirical. Fifty-four studies were selected. The results were organized into the following categories: (a) sources of tension (different events/situations likely to generate tensions, linked to the structure/functioning of society, community characteristics, school and family, link significantly to involvement in offending, but also to other outcomes); b) gender (the sources of stress differ to some extent by gender; romantic break-ups, financial stress and criminal victimization are common between genders); c) Mediators and Moderators (anger, as predicted by the GST, is the main mediator; strong social bonds and positive family relationships stand out as moderators). It is emphasized that the GST contributes by shedding light on the various sources of tension that permeate the development of adolescence and the subjective dimension, the emotions, which may underlie their involvement in offending.

Keywords: General Strain Theory; infractions; Adolescence; emotions; literature review