Robert Agnew (criminologist)

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Robert Agnew
Born (1953-12-01) December 1, 1953 (age 70)
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma mater Rutgers University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Known for General strain theory
Scientific career
Fields Criminology, juvenile delinquency, social psychology
Institutions Emory University

Robert Agnew (born December 1, 1953, in Atlantic City, New Jersey) is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Sociology at Emory University [1] and past president of the American Society of Criminology. [2]

Contents

Education

Agnew received his B.A. with highest honors and highest distinction from Rutgers University in 1975, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in, respectively, 1978 and 1980—all in sociology. [1] He joined Emory University in 1980 and served as chairperson of the sociology department from 2006-2009.

Professor Agnew's primary research and teaching interests are criminology and juvenile delinquency, especially criminological theory. He is well known for his development of general strain theory and was elected Fellow of the American Society of Criminology. [3] He has served on the editorial boards of Criminology , Journal of Crime and Justice, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency , Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology, Justice Quarterly , Social Forces , Theoretical Criminology , Turkish Journal of Criminology, and Youth & Society . [1]

In 2015, Dr. Agnew was awarded the Edwin H. Sutherland Award for his pioneering general strain theory which explains causes behind the crime. [4]

Selected publications

Books

Book chapters

Articles

Technical Reports

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juvenile delinquency</span> Illegal behavior by minors

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Sex differences in crime are differences between men and women as the perpetrators or victims of crime. Such studies may belong to fields such as criminology, sociobiology, or feminist studies. Despite the difficulty of interpreting them, crime statistics may provide a way to investigate such a relationship from a gender differences perspective. An observable difference in crime rates between men and women might be due to social and cultural factors, crimes going unreported, or to biological factors for example, testosterone or sociobiological theories). The nature of the crime itself may also require consideration as a factor.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social control theory</span> Criminological theory

In criminology, social control theory proposes that exploiting the process of socialization and social learning builds self-control and reduces the inclination to indulge in behavior recognized as antisocial. It derived from functionalist theories of crime and was developed by Ivan Nye (1958), who proposed that there were three types of control:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feminist school of criminology</span> School of criminology

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strain theory (sociology)</span> Theory that social structures within society may pressure citizens to commit crime

Strain theory is a theoretical perspective in Sociology and Criminology that aims to explain the relationship between social structure, social values or goals, and crime. Strain theory was originally introduced by Robert King Merton (1938), and argues that society's dominant cultural values and social structure causes strain, which may encourage citizens to commit crimes. Following on the work of Émile Durkheim's theory of anomie, strain theory has been advanced by Robert King Merton (1938), Albert K. Cohen (1955), Richard Cloward, Lloyd Ohlin (1960), Neil Smelser (1963), Robert Agnew (1992), Steven Messner, Richard Rosenfeld (1994) and Jie Zhang (2012).

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Deviance or the sociology of deviance explores the actions and/or behaviors that violate social norms across formally enacted rules as well as informal violations of social norms. Although deviance may have a negative connotation, the violation of social norms is not always a negative action; positive deviation exists in some situations. Although a norm is violated, a behavior can still be classified as positive or acceptable.

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General strain theory (GST) is a theory of criminology developed by Robert Agnew. General strain theory has gained a significant amount of academic attention since being developed in 1992. Robert Agnew's general strain theory is considered to be a solid theory, has accumulated a significant amount of empirical evidence, and has also expanded its primary scope by offering explanations of phenomena outside of criminal behavior. This theory is presented as a micro-level theory because it focuses more on a single person at a time rather than looking at the whole of society.

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Criminology is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behavioural and social sciences, which draws primarily upon the research of sociologists, political scientists, economists, legal sociologists, psychologists, philosophers, psychiatrists, social workers, biologists, social anthropologists, scholars of law and jurisprudence, as well as the processes that define administration of justice and the criminal justice system.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Robert Agnew". Emory College of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  2. "ASC Presidents". American Society of Criminology. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  3. "ASC Fellows". American Society of Criminology. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  4. April Hunt (March 10, 2016). "Robert Agnew: Pioneering work on the causes of crime". Emory University. Retrieved May 23, 2019.

Further reading

Professional and academic associations
Preceded by President of the American Society of Criminology
2013
Succeeded by