Purging behavior in a sample of college females: a research note on general strain theory and female deviance

Tests of theories of deviance tend to focus on criminality, delinquency, or types of deviance more typically engaged in by males. Prototypical female deviance has been largely ignored. This article reports the findings from a pilot study of female deviance. Using a sample of 96 college women, we exa mine the utility of General Strain Theory to explain one prototypically fem ale type of deviant behavior, purging. We explore the relationship of strai n variables to purging, mediated through negative affect. Two forms of nega tive affect, anger and depression, are included in the model. Our findings suggest that the relationship is complex, with an interaction between anger and depression. Anger is associated with purging at high levels of depress ion only. The preliminary findings, when viewed in conjunction with prior r esearch, suggest that different negative affective states may be associated with different types of deviance outcomes, and that typically "female" or self-directed types of deviance may result from the interaction of anger an d depression.