Robert Merton's Anomic Strain Theory Case Study

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Meyer Schkolnick was an American Sociologist born July 4th, 1910 in the slums of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He eventually changed his name to Robert Merton for the sake of having a more “Americanized” name (Nakamura, 2015). Merton is most regarded for his anomic strain theory, which is an adaptation of Durkheim’s anomie. According to Merton “ It is only when a system of cultural values extols, virtually above all else, certain common symbols of success for the population at large while its social structure rigorously restricts or completely eliminates access to approved modes of acquiring these symbols…that antisocial behavior ensues on a considerable scale ” (Merton, 1938). In other words, Merton believed that crime was a result of society having these symbols of success or belief in the American Dream. Merton came up with a concept called the 5 modes of adaptation, Conformist, Innovator, Ritualism, Retreatism, and Rebellion which described the The purpose of this experiment was to fill in several gaps that other studies failed to test. This study plans to fill in the gaps by first using the data from the sample of adolescents in an especially suitable and interesting setting, post-Soviet Ukraine, it investigates the applicability of the theory to this context and reveals that predictive powers of anomic strain may be influenced by larger sociocultural environments. Second, it evaluates the possibility of theoretical elaboration of Merton’s theory through identifying contingencies such as external constraints on behavior and finds limited support for moderating effects of perceptions of risks of sanctioning and social bonds on anomic strain–delinquency relationships. Finally, it confirms that additional clarifications of the concept of anomic strain may be

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