Strain Theory Of Crime And Deviance Research Paper

There are many theories that support the role of access to opportunity in causing crime and deviance. A useful example is the Strain theory which was studied by Merton. He argued that crime is the result of people’s different attachment to collective values. He tried to apply the concept of ‘anomie’ to US society in 1930’s. The American Dream states that anyone can achieve success if they try hard. He believed that while there are overarching agreement, individuals in society are not equally capable of realising the goals of society. Therefore, Merton argues that because there is inequality in the society, some people are not capable of achieving the same goals set by the society through socially approved means and thus, they turn to crime and deviance in order to achieve

He argues that because some working class people fail to achieve the legitimate means in the society, they develop low self-esteem in the society which leads to status frustration as they cannot achieve the goals set by the society. They resolve their status frustration by creating their own subculture where they have their own norms and values which differ from the mainstream norms and values. Nevertheless, by following these norms and values that was created within their subculture, they gain prestige from their fellow peers. Some of the behaviours would include destroying the things they cannot have – vandalising and joyriding property. This, however would be seen as criminal behaviour by the mainstream society. On the other hand, these behaviour are valued by the delinquent society. Cohen therefore, offers a non-Utilitarian explanation of deviance which helps to explain crime such as vandalism and joyriding. However, Cohen fails to see the other reasons for working class delinquency. Their thoughts and feelings are regarded as a consequence of the social structure when in reality there could be other