Sociological Explanations of Delinquency Study Guide
Overview of Sociological Explanations of Delinquency
Sociological explanations of delinquency emphasize social influences on individuals caused by several factors: the structure of society, societal change, social disorganization, subcultural differences, and social processes that influence behavior.
The study of these explanations is typically divided into specific categories of theories: Social Structure, Social Process, Social Reaction, and Life-Course/Integrated theories.
Social Structure Theories
Foundational Concept: Social structure theorists suggest that delinquency is led by external forces such as social disorganization, status frustration, and cultural deviance among lower-class youths.
Focus: These theories specifically focus on the social/cultural environment and the subcultural groups in which adolescents are raised.
Strain Theory
Developer: Robert Merton ().
Core Principle: This theory holds that delinquency is caused by the "strain" or frustration resulting from a lack of equal opportunity or means to achieve commonly shared goals, such as economic or social success.
Anomie: Merton formulated this concept around the idea of "anomie" or "normlessness."
Conditions of Anomie: These conditions exist when the rule of law is weakened and becomes powerless to maintain social control over the population.
Social Disorganization Theory
Developers: Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay ().
Metropolitan Study: They studied Chicago’s urban development and noted changes in the quality of life as industrialization transformed the city.
Core Belief: They believed that urban growth produced a condition of social disorganization. This condition is evidenced by the following factors:
High urban density.
Overcrowding.
Substandard housing.
Low income and unemployment.
Poor quality schools.
Pervasive family problems.
Opportunity-Structure Theories
Impact on Policy: These theories directly prompted government-funded policies such as "Head Start."
Purpose of Programs: These programs were designed as a way to enhance educational and employment opportunities for the disadvantaged to reduce the likelihood of delinquency.
General Strain Theory (GST)
Developer: Robert Agnew ().
Sources of Strain: Agnew identified three specific sources of strain that lead to delinquency:
Strain caused by the failure to achieve positively valued goals.
Strain caused by the removal of positively valued stimuli from the individual (e.g., the loss of a loved one or a valued possession).
Strain as the presentation of negative stimuli, such as child abuse and neglect.
Cultural Deviance Theory
Developer: Walter Miller ().
Alternative Name: Often referred to as Subcultural Theory.
Core Argument: Suggests that the values and attitudes of lower-class youth differ significantly from mainstream middle-class values.
Behavioral Driver: Youths violate the law because they are following the unique values and norms of their lower-class community rather than those of the broader society.
Focal Concerns of Lower-Class Culture: Walter Miller described several "focal concerns" that dominate lower-class cultures and often run counter to lawful, middle-class behavior:
Trouble: Getting into trouble and being able to handle the consequences of trouble are valued traits.
Toughness: Surviving in lower-class subcultures requires physical strength and fighting ability.
Smartness: Defined as being "Street Smart."
Excitement: Seeking out thrills such as gambling, fighting, getting drunk, and sexual activity.
Fate: A belief that there is little an individual can do about their personal situation; things happen by luck or destiny.
Autonomy: A high value placed on independence, especially independence from authority figures such as the police.
Social Process Theories
Focus: These theories focus on the social interactions between individuals and the environmental influences that lead to delinquent behavior.
Differential Association Theory
Developer: Edwin Sutherland.
Core Belief: Delinquency is a learned behavior.
Propositions of the Theory:
Criminal behavior is learned.
Criminal behavior is learned through an interaction with other persons.
The principal part of learning criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups.
Learning includes the techniques of committing the crime and the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes.
The specific direction of motives and drives is learned from definitions of the legal codes as favorable or unfavorable.
The Principle of Differential Association: A person becomes delinquent because of an excess of definitions favorable to violation of law over definitions unfavorable to violation of law.
Differential association may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity.
The process of learning criminal behavior involves all the same mechanisms involved in any other type of learning.
While criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values, it is not explained by them because noncriminal behavior is an expression of the same needs and values.
Control Theories
Core Approach: These theories suggest that to understand delinquency, one must understand the characteristics of persons who conform and do not engage in delinquency.
Primary Developer: Travis Hirschi (), who developed Social Control Theory.
Four Elements of the Social Bond: These elements describe the absence of delinquent involvement:
Attachment: Refers to the ties of affection between the individual and others (e.g., parents or peers).
Commitment: Refers to the stakes an individual has in socially acceptable activities and values.
Involvement: The idea that being involved in conventional activities keeps youth occupied and leaves no time for delinquent acts.
Belief: Refers to the individual's respect for the law and societal norms.
Social Reaction Theories
Focus: These theories focus more on how society, social institutions, and government officials react to crime and delinquency than on why offenders commit crime initially.
Labeling Theory
Core Concept: The very process of identifying and segregating deviant persons as "criminals" increases the likelihood that the behavior will repeat.
Progression: This theory provides an explanation for why some youths begin with minor deviant behavior and progress to more serious behavior after being labeled.
Key Factors: It emphasizes the importance of rule-making, the exercise of power, and the reactions of society and the justice systems.
Empirical Status: There is not a great deal of research support for labeling theory.
Conflict Theory
Alternative Name: Also called Critical Theory.
Relationship to Labeling: Similar to labeling theory in its focus on the social and criminal tendencies of offenders.
Core Argument: Conflict and competition exist among social classes and groups in society.
Systemic Bias: Explains why certain deviant and illegal behaviors are enforced and punished more severely than others, often depending on who is committing them.
Significant Factors of Study: Practitioners focus on Race, Social Class, and Gender as critical variables in delinquency.
Life-Course Development and Integrated Theories
Developmental/Life-Course Explanations
Scope: These attempt to account for delinquents who begin offending in adolescence and eventually "grow out of it."
Methodology: This perspective emphasizes the importance of longitudinal studies of antisocial behavior starting from infancy and childhood.
General and Integrated Theory
Developers: Gottfredson and Hirschi ().
Method: They combined the strong points of traditional classical theory and positivist theories to create the "General Theory of Crime."
Self-Control: The theory describes juvenile delinquents as having a lack of self-control, which draws them to criminal acts that offer immediate excitement, risk, deception, and power.
Explanations of Female Delinquency
Context: Most criminological research and theories have historically been based on boys, leading to a need for gender-specific explanations.
Theoretical Frameworks
Liberation Hypothesis: States that as women have become more active and taken advantage of opportunities outside the home/workplace, they have also begun to engage in crimes originally committed almost exclusively by men.
Power-Control Theory: Explains variations in delinquency among males and females through social class, social roles, and the degree of power held within the family and society.
Feminist Theory of Female Delinquency: Argues that both boys and girls who identify with a nurturing parent are more likely to be caring and concerned for others. Notably, nurturing roles are not gender-specific.
Factors Explaining Increased Violence Among Teenage Girls
Law Enforcement Policies: Changes in responses to domestic violence may explain increased arrest rates rather than an actual increase in assaults committed by girls.
Family Dynamics: Research indicates girls fight with family members or siblings more frequently than boys, which may contribute to differences in arrest data.
Mandatory Arrest Policies: Policies for domestic violence provide parents with a mechanism to control "unruly" daughters via the legal system.
Zero-Tolerance Policies: School policies regarding youth violence increase the number of girls referred to police for school fights that were previously handled internally by school officials.