Robert Agnew

Robert Agnew is a prominent American criminologist and Professor of Criminology at Emory University. He is internationally recognized for reformulating classical strain theory into the General Strain Theory (GST), which expanded the concept of strain beyond economic factors to include a wide range of negative experiences and relationships. Agnew has published extensively on the causes of crime and delinquency, the role of emotions in offending, and the impact of social institutions on criminal behavior. His work has been influential in integrating psychological and sociological perspectives in criminology.

Agnew’s General Strain Theory (1992) marked a major shift in criminological thought by explaining that individuals are more likely to engage in deviant behavior when they experience strains that produce negative emotions such as anger or frustration, particularly when they lack effective coping mechanisms. GST identifies three major sources of strain: (1) the failure to achieve positively valued goals, (2) the removal of positively valued stimuli, and (3) the presentation of negative stimuli. The theory has been widely tested and applied to various forms of deviance, including juvenile delinquency, violent crime, and white-collar crime.

Interview

This video interview was conducted as part of the Oral History of Criminology Project, an initiative that documents the intellectual biographies of leading criminologists. In this conversation, Robert Agnew reflects on the development of General Strain Theory and his broader academic journey.