Homeless youth, strain, and justice system involvement: An application of general strain theory

Article history: Received 12 August 2015 Received in revised form 29 January 2016 Accepted 1 February 2016 Available online 2 February 2016 Using Agnew's (2006) general strain theory as a guide, we seek to identify some of the key events and experiences that place homeless youth at high risk of justice system involvement. By expanding and elaborating on the particular types of strains and stressors that are relevant to homeless youth, we identify several key (and understudied) strains that may help to account for their high risk of justice system involvement and that may also place them at risk of persistent homelessness. These strains include experiences of polyvictimization, experiences of discrimination and violent victimization that result from an LGBT identity, and a variety of failures and setbacks associatedwithmultiple system involvement. The implications of thiswork for policy, practice, and future research are discussed. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.