Strain Theory Essay

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On his way home from school, a fourteen-year-old boy from a poor family stopped at a convenience store. When he thinks the clerk is not looking, he puts a bottle of orange juice under his coat and heads for the door. The clerk catches him and calls the police. There are a number of possible theories to explain the criminal actions of the boy. Possible explanations are Strain theories, Social Disorganization theories, Life Course theories, and social learning theories. I will attempt to explain this boy’s actions using those theories in that order and end it with a conclusion. Strain Theories The first theory I will use to attempt to explain the criminal actions of the juvenile is Strain theories. Strain theory believes that the pressures …show more content…

In Life Course theory, we see the idea that throughout a person’s life they will fluctuate in how actively they participate in criminal activity as they grow older. It is believed that those who will participate in delinquent activities at a younger age, will grow and continue this behavior throughout their whole life. These persons are referred to as “life course persistent offenders” as they will struggle with criminal activities throughout their livelihood. The other type of offender in this theory is the “adolescent limited offender”. This type of offender will mimic the criminal behavior of life course persistent offenders at an earlier age, generally teens to early adulthood, but then go back to more socially acceptable behaviors. In this scenario, we see this kid behaving in a delinquent manor that would fit with the life course theory. At an age of fourteen, we could potentially begin to see clear illegal and criminal behaviors coming from a life course offender. Whether this is the first action or one of many it is possible that this kid is a life time offender. However, he could in theory be an adolescent limited offender. He could have seen the way his brothers and friends act and simply be mimicking the actions of those possible life course offenders in an attempt to fit in or do what he thinks looks cool. Regardless of which aspect of this theory you would choose to apply to this individual scenario, it is clear it would

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