Robert Agnew’s general strain theory was introduced back in 1992, as a way to define social relationships and delinquent state of mind (Agnew, 1992). The background of general strain theory is that the previous version was based on valued goals. Robert Agnew decided that strain was a negative relationship with negative emotions
Strain theory Strain theory is the state of a variety in certain strains and stressors in a person’s life that increases the likelihood of crime. A majority of life circumstances can lead individuals to create a crime from their negative emotions, such as frustration and anger. Crime may be used escape from strain, seeking revenge against the person or source of strain or any related targets. They come from social factors, such as lack of income or the level of quality in education the person has received. There are many ideas underlying strain theory such as classical strain theories focused specifically on some disadvantages from different groups in society.
a. Use Strain Theory to define and explain the following: i. The theft of a loaf of bread by a hungry person Using strain theory, the theft of a loaf of bread by a hungry person can be explained as a situation where an individual employs different means of success of getting fed, one that is against the agreeable ways in the society of getting money and feeding themselves. ii. Alcoholics Using strain theory, an alcohol has ultimately rejected the society’s goals of conforming to the societal values such as happiness and a stable job, such an individual essentially rejects the goals because they have been ultimately been unable to live up to the society’s standards.
One of these people were Robert Agnew who thought that strain theory could be very important in explaining crime and deviance that happens but that it needed to be in a different context so that it was not tied to social class or cultural variables, but have it focus more on norms according to society. “In sum, we would expect certain strains to affect crime in all or most societies, while the effect of other strains may differ across societies. A general strain theory that explains differences in criminal offending will systematically list all of those strains that function as “extreme stressors,” as well as those societal factors that affect the magnitude of given strains, the interpretation of such strains (e.g., their perceived magnitude and injustice), and the likelihood of criminal coping”(Sigfusdottir & Kristjansson , 2012).The general strain theory have 3 categories of strains according to Agnew which are the inability to achieve positively valued goals ,the removal or the threat to remove positively valued stimuli and to present a threat to one with noxious or negatively valued stimuli.The inability to achieve positively valued goals are difference between the expectation influenced by factors such as social class
Strain and Deviance: an empirical test of General Strain Theory of in a Philippine Public University LITERATURE REVIEW Theoretical Background During the past decades, various criminologists developed different theories in an attempt to explain the causes of crime within the society. In return they were successful, as of today it was adopted or accepted, indeed all of theories explain the root causes of crime. One of these theories is anomie or strain theory which originally argues that the lower class frustration to higher class causes crime (Merton, 1938) in attempt to explain why majority of the people who commits crime are lower class. In 1985 Robert Agnew a sociologist come to an interest of studying the theory and finds a potential for the theory in explaining several causes of crime in society, but due to its limitation he developed and reformulated the theory to widen its dimension or scope. After revising the theory he come up into General strain theory of crime and builds its foundation in 1992.
Lastly, the strain theory can be related to Scarver’s criminality as well, as it is used to describe an individual who lacks the means to obtain such goals, and aspirations, so therefore, he or she engages in criminal activities to acquire the goals. The strain theory is relatively close to the social disorganization theory, regarding poverty rates, and unemployment rates within
Understanding a more define connection between general strain theory and juvenile delinquency is the breakdown among racial factors and strains that may affect one group more than the other. Minorities such as blacks and Hispanics are more like to be charged with more serious crimes than whites(Peck). The reason being is because minorities may have more stains such as poverty, discrimination, and criminal victimization. These strains can leave a damper on the growth of one group of people when there is various amount of strains to keep a group from progressing. Often as a young minority, juveniles are taught by their environment or parents on how to survive in America.
The other explanation is based on social responsibilities which indicate that individuals know the difference between the wrong and the right decisions and as such, decide to undertake in crime after making a conscious decision. Various theoretical perspectives can be used to support the two themes. For instance, social disorganization theory and strain theory can be used in explaining how social problems that exist in an individual’s environment can push them to undertake criminal activities. Social disorganization theory points out those illegal activities are more likely to take place in
This paper draws on existing sociological research in identifying a number of theories used in explaining the formation of gangs. The theories discussed are social structure theories, social conflict theory, and social process theories all of which highlight elements of strain in different forms as they relates to gang formation. According to Merton, (as cited in Schneider & Tilly, 2004) structural theories significantly emphasize the role of social and economic structures as the causes of delinquent behavior and tend to treat criminal behavior as the result of the undesirable and dysfunctional structures (P. 3.). Many strain theorists recognize that the greatest amount of strain is evident in the lower class groups (Hagan, 2008; Siegel, 2011;
However, the social structure often fails in providing the means, thereby creating an imbalance in the fulfillment of the cultural goals. This imbalance that stems from the lack of necessary means to achieve socially accepted cultural goals leads to structural strain. The Strain Theory was propounded by Robert