PURPOSE: Although studies of General Strain Theory (GST) typically include measures of
physical health in multi-item indices of strain, no work has investigated the independent
influence of physical health on criminal offending. The current research explores the
relationship between physical health and criminal offending among low-income women
living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. METHODS: Using data from the Welfare, Children,
and Families (WCF) project, criminal behavior is predicted over two years with measures of …