1. INTRODUCTION Robert Merton (1938) borrowed Durkheim’s concept of anomie) normlessness, to explain crime. Durkheim’s view of crime was that crime is rooted in socio-cultural factors and not in the individual. Merton’s strain theory is really a theory of social organisation (i.e. inequality), thus, the proper test is to look at social structural correlates of crime rather than at individuals. Merton explained crime in terms of goals and means. He assumed everyone in society shared the same goal
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
& Tilly, 2004) suggests 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) However, to some it is rather unbelievable people who join gangs belong to similar neighborhoods and socioeconomic backgrounds. This paper draws on existing sociological research in identifying a number of theories; this paper will discuss both social
Introduction. Merton was an American Sociologist born on July 4th 1910. He Attended Temple College for undergraduate work and Harvard for graduate work, studying sociology at both and earning his doctorate degree in 1936. Merton taught at a number of universities for many years before retiring from teaching in 1984. Merton has been awarded honorary degrees by more than 20 universities including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Chicago as well as several other universities abroad. Today, Merton is considered
research paper attempts to examine why some youths get caught up in school violence and delinquency while others do not. The research will draw on existing sociological research and two major schools of criminological thoughts classical and positivist’s theories (Bartusch, 2006) to examine juvenile delinquency and how adequately the existing framework provides explanations on the issue especially in the context of our contemporary era. There are many universally accepted definitions of juvenile delinquency
sociologist Émile Durkheim on anomie with his theory on deviance and social strain. Robert K Merton argued that a society may be set up in a way that promotes too much deviance. He believed that when socially accepted goals and social norms place pressure on individual to conform, they force the person to opt to work within the societally defined structure or be a member of deviant social group in attempt to achieve those goals. Merton termed this theory strain theory. Merton believed that the societies
Strain Theory could guide and present a strong influence on a youth’s lifestyle and be used as the theory explaining on why the juveniles have deviated towards delinquency instead of a lawful direction of adulthood. The following essay will be introducing a belief on why Strain Theory is one of the foremost concepts leading to misbehavior in adolescents. The Strain Theory could be explained as a person who has finally reached their boiling point, and it was time for them to release some pressure
deviance with a number of conventional theories. Three of these theories include Differential Association Theory, Strain theory and Social Bond Theory. Although these theories do a good job at explaining criminal behaviour within western civilizations their relevance to post-colonial territories in the Caribbean is being called into question. This essay seeks to explore the extent to which Differential Association Theory, Strain theory and Social Bond Theory provide an adequate explanation for crime
Strain Theory The founding fathers believed that democracy depends upon economic freedom (Schramm, 2006). Indeed, the founding fathers wrote the U.S. Constitution so that a capitalistic economic system would persist to ensure political freedom. As a result, achieving financial success is fundamental to American society. According to the Robert Merton’s strain theory, when people in power pass laws that do not represent the common interests of the local residents, and which inhibit them from legitimately