1. Strain theories

2. Three clashing views of American culture
American culture is egalitarian
Everyone has an equal chance to gain wealth
If you can’t it’s your own fault – maybe you’re “lazy”
Kornhauser – strain is evenly spread through society
Rich and poor always want more
Economic gain isn’t a cultural value – it’s intrinsic
Hard work (Protestant ethic) is a weak value, easily overcome by greed
Criminals and delinquents not strained
Have low aspirations (what they want) and low expectations (what they expect to get)
American culture is “criminogenic” – it promotes crime
Strong forces promote goal of material success
Weak forces promote culturally accepted means
Protestant work ethic, honesty, education, delayed gratification
Social structure limits possibilities

3. Two classical strain theories: Durkheim and Merton
“Anomie” – Emile Durkheim
Society can’t regulate appetites
Rapid social change breaks down controls
“Strain” – Merton – Social change not required to explain crime
Individual “appetites” originate in the culture
America: heavy emphasis on material wealth
Severe strain on lower classes
Limits imposed by social structure – not by talents or efforts
Fewer legitimate opportunities
Lack of socially acceptable “means”, too much emphasis on “ends”
Those who use deviant means are not consistently punished
So, crime is a rational choice – a way to adapt to strain
3 mis.

4. Merton – individual responses to strain
Conformity (accept goals and means)
In stable society, most persons will keep trying even if they don’t succeed
Innovation (accept goals, seek out new means)
Non-criminal adaptations – training, education
Criminal adaptations – steal, deal drugs
Ritualism (reject goals, accept means)
Achieve minimum success
Retreatism (reject goals and means)
“Turn on, tune in, drop out” – Timothy Leary and the psychedelic 60’s
Drop out – of the rat race
Rebellion (replace socially accepted values with new values)
Political rebellion, spiritualism
Jewel thief Doris Payne 2 mis.
Drug guru Dr. Timothy Leary 8 mis.

5. Origin of strain is cultural – Messner & Rosenfeld Origin is structural – Bernard
Messner & Rosenfeld agree with Merton that cultural pressures for successcrime
BUT - expanding opportunities may cause more crime unless culture changes
Newly “enabled” persons lose their excuse to stay poor
Economic goals override influence of social institutions
Families, schools, politics – all are subservient to the economy
Recommendations
Support families with child care and flexible work schedules
Make a distinction between education and job training
Protect citizens from the marketplace with social safety nets
Engage young people in community service
Give greater social prominence to goals other than material success
Bernard says that strain is concentrated in lower classes but is primarily structural
Delinquents have a gap between expectations and aspirations
Their excuses & justifications are misinterpreted as part of a “lower-class lifestyle”
Adaptations described by Merton are real reactions to situations that individuals cannot overcome

6. Explaining gang delinquency – Cohen
Most delinquency occurs in gangs
Mostly not caused by strain
Non-utilitarian, malicious, negativistic (vandalism)
Gang member goals are intangible (not tangible, i.e. money)
Status and self-worth
Which delinquents are strained?
Youths without ascribed status (e.g., come from a poor family)
Youths who cannot gain achieved status (lose when competing with others)
Cohen’s theory similar to Merton’s “rebellion”
Form that “rebellion” takes is shaped by a group – not just by an individual

7. Gang delinquency – Cloward and Ohlin
Goals are both tangible (Merton) and intangible (Cohen)
Goal of serious delinquents is “conspicuous consumption”
Fast cars, fancy clothes, “swell dames”
Goals clash with conventional values
Serious delinquents are looked down on for...
...what they don’t want (middle-class lifestyle)
...what they do want (fast cars, fancy clothes, “swell dames”
If they lack licit and illicit opportunities to get what they want, serious delinquents may form a violent or “conflict” gang to express their anger
7 mis.

8. Meanings of strain – Cullen
Strain means two different things
Characteristics of a society that doesn’t provide legitimate means to achieve culturally valued ends
Individual feelings of frustration, anxiety and depression from above
Structural inequalities encourage deviance
Unequal legitimate opportunities caused by social structure
Deviant response varies according to “structuring variables”
Social/economic circumstances
Technological advances
Specific opportunities (e.g., Columbian drug cartel)
Individual psychological responses
It’s the “feelings” that directly cause crime
Social structural inequality  frustration  crime
7 mis.

9. Individual strain – Agnew
Negative relationships & stressful life events
Juveniles stressed by bad interpersonal relationships
Cannot escape “stressors” that originate at home or in school
Delinquency & drug use a way to cope or manage strain
May provide “relief” from stresses
10 mis.

10. Strain theory and public policy
Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1961
Improve education
Create job opportunities
Organize lower-class families
Provide services to individuals, gangs, families
War on Poverty – Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
Crime and poverty based on social structure
Original intent to change social structure
Implementation geared to change poor people