The two theories I decided to combine are Agnew's general tension theory and Hirschi's social bond theory. I chose General Strain Theory because it does a good job of discussing some of the things that can trigger the release of a person's negative emotions which in turn can lead to deviant behavior. I also decided to write about social bond theory because it describes some of the factors that prevent people from committing crimes. Both theories have strengths and weaknesses individually, but when combined they help fill each other's gaps. (Agnew, 2011; Hirschi, 2011) +1 (888) 295-7904Robert Agnew's General Strain Theory proposal to explain criminal deviance is based on three concepts. The first concept is that people are not naturally inclined to commit crimes. Rather, their transition into deviant behavior begins when they experience tension. The second concept is that once tension is present, depending on the severity of the stain, a person becomes a victim of their own negative emotions such as anger, jealousy and frustration. Their response to those negative emotions can speed up the transition. The third concept examines a person's ability to cope with tension and negative emotions. If a person has poor coping skills, they tend to be overwhelmed by the tension and negative emotions they feel due to the tension. Poor coping skills can lead someone to commit a crime in hopes of correcting their situation. (Agnew, 2011) General effort theory views most human beings as legitimate and moral citizens in their society. The average citizen turns to deviance only when affected by negative emotions caused by one or more of the three main types of tension. The three types... middle of paper... rain theory. In F. Cullen and R. Agnew (Eds.), Criminological theory: From past to present (pp. 189-197). New York: Oxford University Press Inc. Agnew, R. (2011). Driven to crime: General strain theory. In F. Cullen and R. Agnew (eds.), Criminological Theory: From Past to Present 4th ed. (p. 190). New York: Oxford University Press Inc. Agnew, R. (2011). Driven to crime: General strain theory. In F. Cullen and R. Agnew (eds.), Criminological Theory: From Past to Present 4th ed. (p. 191). New York: Oxford University Press Inc.Hirschi, T. (2011). Social bond theory. In F. Cullen and R. Agnew (eds.), Criminological Theory: From Past to Present 4th ed. (pp. 215-223). New York: Oxford University Press Inc.Hirschi, T. (2011). Social bond theory. In F. Cullen and R. Agnew (eds.), Criminological Theory: From Past to Present 4th ed. (p. 217). New York: Oxford University Press Inc.