Researchers are constantly searching for explanations for crime patterns and crime rates among youth. They presented many theories to serve as such explanations and the deformation theory is one of them; however, like many other theories, the strain theory was put aside decades ago. Only recently has this theory been given new life by criminologist Robert Agnew. Robert Agnew introduced this new development as the general theory of deformation. The GST was the first assumption not to be linked to social class or cultural variables as in the previous implications of Émile Durkheim's theory of anomie. Instead, Agnew's theory refocused on the social norms affecting young people. Jang and Johnson (2003) noted that GST is “one of the most important theoretical developments in criminology in the past decade.” In his theory, Agnew (1992) identifies three main types of tension: “tension as the actual or anticipated failure to achieve positively valued goals, tension as the actual or anticipated removal of positively valued stimuli, and tension as the actual or anticipated presentation of stimuli evaluated positively". of negative stimuli” (p. 59). He then specified the emotions generated by tension and revealed the conditioning factors to explain individual differences in young people's adaptations to tension. GST differs from other strain theories because it includes another variable, negative emotion. The first type of strain, the inability to obtain positively valued stimuli, arises from an individual's inability to achieve a valued goal. According to GST, there are three types of goals that members of society strive to achieve: money, status and respect, and autonomy (Agnew et al., 2002). Stress is explained as “negative or aversive relationships with others” that the gene… half of the article… 137-153). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.Agnew, R. (2001). Build on the foundations of general strain theory: specify the types of strain that are most likely to lead to crime and delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38(4), 319-361. doi: 10.1177/0022427801038004001 Agnew, R. (1992). Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology, 30, 47-87. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1992.tb01093.xAgnew, R., Brezina, T., Wright, J. P., & Cullen, F. T. (2002). Strain, personality traits, and delinquency: Extending general strain theory. Criminology, 40(1), 44-46. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2002.tb00949.xJang, S. J., & Johnson, B. R. (2003). Tension, negative emotions, and deviant coping among African Americans: A test of general strain theory. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 19(1), 81-82. doi: 10.1023/A:1022570729068.