Explaining the Link Between Race and Violence With General Strain Theory

General strain theory predicts that race-related discrimination will raise the risk of serious violent offending. Data from a sample of African American students from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health are analyzed to test the hypothesis. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that, net of controls, perceiving that students at school are prejudiced was positively associated with seriously injuring at least one person in the past year. Several of the control measures were also found to predict violent behavior, providing partial support for general strain theory.