Perceived justice, negative emotions and delinquency in Chinese high schools and vocational schools

Abstract

ABSTRACT General strain theory (GST) has been applied to explain the causes of delinquency in Western and China context, which argues that strain is a major source of criminal motivation. Being an important source of strain, the subjective perception of justice has the potential to promote negative emotions and delinquency. Using a sample of 2081 students from 11 middle schools and 11 vocational schools in South China, the current study tests associations and intervening paths between perceived justice, life satisfaction, negative emotions and delinquency. Results revealed that dissatisfactory perceived justice promoted delinquency, and this relationship was mediated by life satisfaction and negative emotions. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.