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With many sources that attempt to explain why youth join gangs, studies based on empirical research are optimal to reveal the critical factors. This paper will focus on combining these sources that are based on empirical methodologies with Robert Merton's strain theory to explain why youth join gangs from an analytical perspective. The empirical studies reveal a trend that youth join gangs because of a troublesome economy and coming from a low-socioeconomic status, creating a strong connection with Merton's strain theory.
It is not uncommon that in today's world, there are societal expectations and standards of the ideal lifestyle. In the US, the 'American Dream' constitutes the ideal life that is based on achieving wealth, status, and fame in a successful manner. Merton's strain theory explains how the mainstream promotes the American Dream while disregarding the fact that not all communities have equal opportunities to achieve it in a legitimate fashion (Parnaby and Sacco 2004). Essentially, people can conform to this universal standard, but when they realize that they are severely limited the result is anomie because there is too much emphasis on becoming prosperous, while the socio-economic imbalance is ignored.
This leads to Merton's various forms of adaptations: innovation, where the person accepts the goals, but rejects the means; retreating, where the person rejects both the goals and the means; ritualism, where the person rejects the goals, but accepts the means and; rebellion, where the person creates alternative goals via alternative means. Merton basically suggests that when a person is limited to achieve the mainstream goal, they adapt via alternative structures that can consequently be illegitimate...
... middle of paper ...
... American dream.
Works Cited
Johnstone, John W.C. 1983. "Recruitment to a Youth Gang." Youth & Society 14:281-300.
Lilly, J. Robert, Francis T. Cullen and Richard A. Ball. 2011. "Crime in American Society" Pp 61-87 in Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences (5th Edition) Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
Maclure, Richard, and Melvin Sotelo. 2004. "Youth Gangs in Nicaragua: Gang Membership as Structured Individualization." Journal of Youth Studies 7:417-432.
Parnaby, Patrick F., and Vincent F. Sacco. 2004. "Fame and Strain: The Contributions of Mertonian Deviance Theory to an Understanding of the Relationship Between Celebrity and Deviant Behaviour." Deviant Behaviour 25:1-26.
Yoder, Kevin A., Les B. Whitbeck, and Dan R. Hoyt. 2003. "Gang Involvement and Membership Among Homeless and Runaway Youth." Youth & Society 34:441-467.
216). Strain due to a lack of access to legitimate means that would help an individual obtain the culturally accepted goals (e.g., wealth) is more commonly seen in the lower classes. More of than not, the poor and minorities in our society usually not have the resources needed (e.g., education) to help them succeed in accomplishing their goals. Thus, these individuals are handicapped and at a disadvantage when it comes to being able to escape from the lower class (Wilson, 2009). Merton identified five responses to this means and end dilemma.
Pollock, J. M. (2012). Crime and justice in America: An introduction to criminal justice (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
McCarthy, B. (2002). NEW ECONOMICS OF SOCIOLOGICAL CRIMINOLOGY. Annual Review Of Sociology, 28(1), 417-442. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.28.110601.140752
Gang involvement has been quite higher than past years. The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey estimates that about 32.4 percent of all cities, suburban areas, towns, and rural counties had a gang problem (Egley et al., 2010). This represented a 15 percent increase from the year 2002. The total number of gangs has also increased by 28 percent and total gang members have increased by 6 percent (Egley et al., 2010). This shows how relevant gang related activity is in today’s society. More locations are beginning to experience gang activity for the first time. Gang crime has also been on the rise in the past...
Lilly, J. R., Ball, R. A., & Cullen, F. T. (2011). Criminological theory: Context and consequences. Los Angeles, CA US: Sage.
3. Maclure, Richard, and Melvin Sotelo. 2004. "Youth Gangs in Nicaragua: Gang Membership as Structured Individualization." Journal of Youth Studies 7:417-432.
Winfree, T., & Abadinsky, H. (2nd Ed.). (2003). Understanding Crime: Theory and Practice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth publishers.
In the 1920’s there was a study conducted by Fredric M. Thrasher. Thrasher studied 1,313 gangs in Chicago and revealed the issue of gangs. He considered the poor in poverty as the area increasing in gangs. This area was known as the “zone in transition” and was referred as in his studies. Thrasher has many law reinforcement and social workers helping him bring a stop to this madness. According to Thrashers studies “Important variables such as the age of gang members or the organizational features of the gangs were not related in a straightforward way to differences in the behavior of gangs” (Cummings 6). Thrasher has analyzed these gangs in many ways to the extent or romantic life in gangs. He helped us distinguish the difference in stereotype gangs and then the actual facts involving them.
The presence of gang violence has been a long lasting problem in Philadelphia. Since the American Revolution, gangs have been overpopulating the streets of Philadelphia (Johnson, Muhlhausen, 2005). Most gangs in history have been of lower class members of society, and they often are immigrants into the U.S (Teen Gangs, 1996). Gangs provided lower class teens to have an opportunity to bond with other lower class teens. However over time, the original motive of being in a gang has changed. In the past, gangs used to provide an escape for teens to express themselves, let out aggression, and to socialize with their peers. It was also an opportunity for teens to control their territory and fit in (Johnson, Muhlhausen, 2005). In the past, authorities would only focus on symptoms of gang violence and not the root. They would focus on arresting crime members instead of preventing gang violence. Gangs are beginning to expand from inner-city blo...
Applied to the Strain Theory, Merton believed that society must have a balance between approved social means and approved culture goals. And in the situation of an anomie, is when the individuals represented are in a state of chaos as to where there are no norms or values to be accepted. As the search for the American Dream becomes more desirable to most, there draws a thin line between accessing this concept of stability, and maintaining it. Merton argues that there are not enough legitimate resources available to help those to obtaining this goal in American society because everyone is more ...
Ferrington, David P. (1991). Explaining the Beginning and Progress. In Advances in Criminological Theory, (Eds)., Joan McCord, vol 3, (pp,191-199). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Lilly, Robert J., Francis T. Cullen, and Richard A. Ball. 2011. Criminological Theory: Context And Consequences. 5th ed. California: SAGE.
Lilly, J. Robert, Francis T. Cullen, and Richard A. Ball. 2011. Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Williams, F., & McShane, M. (2010). Criminological Theory, (5th Edition). New Brunswick, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
One of the reasons young people join street gangs is because of neighborhood disadvantages. A theory that can contribute to why young people might join street gangs is Social Disorganization Theory. Social Disorganization theory assumes that “delinquency emerges in neighborhoods where neighborhood relation and social institutions have broken down and can no longer maintain effective social controls (Bell, 2007).” Social Disorganization contributes to residential instability and poverty, which affects interpersonal relationships within the community and opens opportunities for crimes to be committed. The break down of neighborhood relation and social institutions create a higher likely hood that young people will affiliate with deviant peers and get involved in gangs. When there is lack of social controls within a neighborhood the opportunity to commit deviance increases and the exposure to deviant groups such as street gangs increase. Which causes an increase in the chances of young people joining street gangs. If social controls are strong remain strong within a neighborhood and/or community the chances of young people committing crime and joining gangs decreases.