Introduction
Strain theories refer to a family of theories that state that stressors increase the likelihood of crime. The stressors cause negative emotions such as frustration and anger which create pressure for corrective action, crime being one of the possible responses. According to strain theories, crime may be used by individuals to reduce or escape from strain or seek revenge against the source of stress. For instance, individuals experiencing chronic unemployment may resort theft or drug selling in order to get money. All the strain theories posit that only a minority of individuals who are strained turn to crime. This particular paper will focus on the various versions of strain theory, the various strains that may lead to crime, how strains increase crime, as well as the factors that lead a person to or prevent a person from responding to strains with crime.
Strain Theories
Strain theories generally propose that pressures derived from such social factors as lack of income or lack of education drives individuals in the society to commit crime. The major ideas underlying strain theories were first developed in the 1930 by the renowned American sociologist Robert Merton. Merton’s work on the subject of crime in the society became particularly influential in the 1950s. Other influential theorists who set forth similar ideas include Albert Cohen, Richard Cloward, and Lloyd Ohlin. It is important to realize that classic strain theories focused mainly on the inability to achieve common aspirations among the disadvantaged groups as the driving force behind crime in the society. For instance, the theory proposes that people who are unable to achieve socially preferred goals were more likely to engage in criminal activities as a way of getting money. Individuals who live below the poverty threshold are generally unable to realize common, socially accepted aspirations through legal means. As a result, such individuals are forced down a path of criminal activities aimed at achieving the socially preferred goals. There are various strain theories seeking to explain the issue of human behavior and crime in the society. The various strain theories include the anomie theory, institutional anomie theory, general strain theory, and relative deprivation theory. One common feature of all strain theories is that they argue that strain creates pressures and incentives to engage in crime as a response to the strain experienced. However, each strain theory differs with respect to what really constitutes the most significant sources of strain.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The Anomie Theory
The anomie theory is a framework developed by Robert Merton in 1938 for explaining crime rates. According to Merton, the rigid adherence to conventional American values was the reason for high crime rates and deviance. The widespread conformity to American culture, as well as the American obsession to success produced high levels of crime in the society. Merton observed that the American society places an unusual emphasis on economic success and how the emphasis seems to be universal ( Cullen et al., 2014). Essentially, every individual in the society ascribed to the American Dream that an individual would inevitably reap the economic benefits of hard-work. Thus, Merton noted that every individual was under pressure to achieve the American Dream. However, the American social structure limited the individuals’ access to the goal of economic success through legitimate means. This is because the individuals with low socio-economic status generally have disadvantaged starting point, particularly in the race toward affluence.
According to Merton the disjunction between culturally ascribed goals and the availability of legitimate means to attain such goals exerts pressure on the cultural norms regarding what means should be used to attain culturally prescribed goals. Such weakening of the cultural norms is what Merton termed anomie. Therefore, the inability to attain socially ascribed goals such as economic success forced individuals to engage in criminal activity as a way of getting money to enable them achieve socially preferred goals.
Institutional Anomie Theory
The institutional anomie theory is an extension of Merton’s anomie theory. The theory was developed by Messner and Rosenfeld in 1994. Although the theory agrees with Merton’s view of the American culture, it found his analysis of the social structure incomplete ( Nam et al. 2014). Messner and Rosenfeld argued that the American dream promotes and sustains an institutional structure in which the economy is dominant over other institutions. Such an imbalance in the institutional structure of the society limits the ability of other social institutions such as family and education to insulate other members of society from the criminogenic pressures posed by the American dream ( Nam et al. 2014). Messner and Rosenfeld, like Merton, assert that the American culture places a disproportionate emphasis on material success. However, Messner and Rosenfeld differ from Merton’s view in that they propose that culturally produced pressures aimed at securing monetary rewards, as well as weak controls from non-economic social institutions are responsible for the high crime rates. As such, the role of religion, family, and politics in the social institutional structure should be considered in order to counter the effects of economy playing a dominant role in the society.
General Strain Theory
The general theory was developed by Agnew in 1985 and 1992. The theory proposes that strain leads to negative emotions. According to Agnew, the negative emotions may result in a number of outcomes, including crime and delinquency ( Jang et al., 2014). The various specific strains according to the theory include the removal of positively valued stimuli, failure to achieve positively valued goals, and the presentation of negatively valued stimuli. The positively valued goals include money or status. The removal of positively valued stimuli may include the loss of a valued possession. Presentation of negatively valued stimuli such as physical abuse could be a significant social strain too. According to the theory, individuals who experience strain in the society may develop negative emotions which may necessitate coping responses as a way of relieving internal pressure. The general strain theory identifies various types of delinquent adaptations including retaliatory, instrumental, and escapist outcomes. Retaliatory adaptations can be violent offences while instrumental can be property offences. Escapist adaptations include drug use. Agnew observed that anger had the strongest effect on the violent offences. Depression and anxiety are also some of the negative emotions resulting from strain which may lead to criminal activities.
Relative Deprivation Theory
The relative deprivation theory was developed by Crosby in 1976. The theory focuses on the perception of individuals regarding their wellbeing relative others. According to Crosby, wellbeing can be estimated based on a number of dimensions such as wealth, power, income, and prestige. According to the relative deprivation theory, objective conditions may have little relationship to individuals’ behavior, as their perceptions of the conditions may be at odds with the reality ( Dion, 2014) . Thus, the concept of relative deprivation generally measures individuals’ subjective assessment of their economic position or other dimension of social comparison. Crosby’s theory posits that people evaluate themselves relative to comparison others in the society. Relative deprivation in terms of perceived economic deprivation has been linked to property crime, drug use, and violent crime. People who feel economically deprived may develop feelings of envy, low self-worth, and injustice. Therefore, perceived relative deprivation in the society can be a significant strain that leads to negative emotions that increase the likelihood of crime.
Policy and Prevention
The anomie theory, general strain theory, and relative deprivation theory identify the various strains that may induce criminal behaviors and activities among individuals. The basic principle underlying all the strain theories is that strain creates pressures that create pressures which necessitate coping responses, including crime. The institutional anomie theory adds to the various strain theories by proposing that strain conditions could be perpetuated by a wide range of institutions in the society, apart from the economy. Therefore, the strain theories suggest that policy interventions need to effectively address the various types and sources of stress in order to reduce crime rates in the society. Although the theories identify numerous sources of strain, the policy interventions should focus mainly on those that have the strongest relationships with crime and delinquency.
The theories fail to recognize the role of police and courts in correcting criminal behavior in the society. Instead, the strain theories emphasize the need to address the various sources of strain such as failure to achieve socially preferred goals such as economic success. According to anomie theory and general strain theory, people who fail to achieve socially accepted goals may cause strain which forces people to respond through negative emotions. The negative emotions may promote crime in the society. Therefore, increasing employment opportunities and access to quality education may play a significant role in reducing the intensity of strains on the individuals in the society.
The strain theories differ from life course theories in a number of ways. While strain theories recognize the role of social stressors on criminal activities, life-course theories propose that crime is a complex phenomenon with multiple causes. As such, the life-cause theories argue that factors that may have a causal influence on crime levels in the society may change in the course of an individual’s life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is clear that strain theories focus on the impact of certain strains on the likelihood of crime. The strains identified by the strain theories include the inability to achieve one’s goals, loss of positive stimuli, and the presentation of negative stimuli. The individuals in the society who experience the strains become upset, and may turn to crime as a coping response. Crime could be a way to reduce to escape from the strains. The theories suggest that crime can be use to seek revenge against the source of strain or the related targets. Intervention policies should focus on addressing the sources of the strains that may lead to criminal activity among individuals in the society.
References
Cullen, J. B., Johnson, J. L., & Parboteeah, K. P. (2014). National rates of opportunity entrepreneurship activity: Insights from institutional anomie theory. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice , 38 (4), 775-806.
Dion, K. L. (2014). Responses to perceived discrimination and relative deprivation. In Relative deprivation and social comparison (pp. 171-192). Psychology Press.
Jang, H., Song, J., & Kim, R. (2014). Does the offline bully-victimization influence cyberbullying behavior among youths? Application of general strain theory. Computers in Human Behavior , 31 , 85-93.
Nam, D. I., Parboteeah, K. P., Cullen, J. B., & Johnson, J. L. (2014). Cross-national differences in firms undertaking innovation initiatives: An application of institutional anomie theory. Journal of International Management , 20 (2), 91-106.
