Hamilton's General Strain Theory

Hello Dr. Webb,
After reading the article Virginia Student Charged in School Shooting from 2009, I was left with one question, which was what was Jason Michael Hamilton, 20 motives? So, before I answered your question I did a little research and found out that “Hamilton was upset about his grades before the shooting, said police” (Martinez, 2009) where he tried to shoot his math professor at Northern Virginia Community College. Hamilton's has “Asperger's syndrome and was suffering from depression at the time of the shooting, but Asperger’s syndrome alone is not dangerous…but Asperger’s syndrome combined with depression is a pressure cooker” (Bryce, 2011). The only problem with Hamilton is that no one knew he had Asperger’s syndrome before he
The GST states that stressors or strains increase the probability of negative emotions like frustration and anger in an individual. These “types of emotions tend to create pressure for counteractive action, and crime is one possible response” (Agnew 1992). The crime might be a technique for lessening strain, alleviating negative emotions or seeking revenge (e.g., like bad grades). General strain theory (GST) builds on preceding strain theories in more than a few ways: the most notably, includes the loss of positive stimuli, pointing to several new categories of strain, the presentation of negative stimuli, and the new categories of goal blockage (e.g., like a passing grade, failure to achieve goals like graduating from college) (Agnew, 2001). The specification of these new categories of strain is GST’s greatest strength. Agnew (1992) also stated the importance of knowing what strain is which is: the “relationships in which others are not treating the individual as he or she would like to be treated” (p. 48). I also agree that Hamilton can fall under subjective strain because it represents an “emotional response to an event or condition (e.g., Hamilton’s Asperger’s syndrome, depression, failing grades). Furthermore, subjective strain deals with the person’s evaluation of the condition or event. We have numerous definitions of emotion, but most researchers agree that the central element of an emotion is an evaluation of an affective answer to some idea or object or behavior. According to most “theorists, however, go on to state that emotions involve more than an evaluation or affective response, for example, they also involve changes in physiological or bodily sensations (Berkowitz 1993; Smith-Lovin 1995; Thoits