CAN GENERAL STRAIN THEORY EXPLAIN WHITE-COLLAR CRIME? A ...

CAN GENERAL STRAIN THEORY EXPLAIN WHITE-COLLAR CRIME? A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

By LYNN E. LANGTON

A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2004

Copyright 2004 by

Lynn E. Langton

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Nicole Piquero, my committee chair, for all of her guidance, encouragement, patience, and advice, without which I would not have been able to complete this thesis. I would also like to give a big round of thanks to my committee members, Dr. Richard Hollinger, Dr. Lonn Lanza-Kaduce, and Dr. Alex Piquero, for all of their excellent questions, suggestions, and editing which have turned this into a much better document than I could have ever produced alone. I would like to thank the entire Center for Studies in Criminology and Law for all of their help and support with the "switch," which has fueled my motivation and made this process infinitely more enjoyable. I owe my greatest appreciation and gratitude to my parents John and Andrea Langton who have not only supported me in so many ways, but also made themselves available for me to vent any of my concerns and frustrations over the past two years. Without them, none of this would have been possible. Finally, I have to thank Stephanie Carmichael, Zenta Gomez-Smith, and Andrea Schoepfer for being great friends, for providing great escapes and distractions, and for always setting an excellent standard to work towards.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii

LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. vi

ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... vii

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................1

2 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................6

General Strain Theory...................................................................................................6 Empirical tests of GST..................................................................................................9

3 DATA AND METHODS ...............................................................................................14

Sample ........................................................................................................................14 Variables .....................................................................................................................16

Strain....................................................................................................................16 Motivation. ..........................................................................................................20 Offense Type. ......................................................................................................22 Coping. ................................................................................................................23 Control Variables.................................................................................................24 Analytic Plan ..............................................................................................................24

4 RESULTS .......................................................................................................................25

Hypothesis 1 -- Effects of Strain on Negative Emotion .............................................25 Hypothesis 2 -- Effects of Strain on Offending ..........................................................26 Hypothesis 3 -- Effects of Strain and Motivation on Offending ................................31

Antitrust. ..............................................................................................................31 SEC Violations. ...................................................................................................32 Bribery. ................................................................................................................33 Mail and Wire Fraud. ..........................................................................................33 False Claims and Statements. ..............................................................................34 Embezzlement. ....................................................................................................34 Credit Fraud.........................................................................................................35

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Tax Fraud.............................................................................................................35 Hypothesis 4 ? Effects of Strain, Motivation, and Coping on Offense ......................36 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION.............................................................................41 Discussion...................................................................................................................41 Limitations and Future Research ................................................................................45 LIST OF REFERENCES...................................................................................................48 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .............................................................................................53

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