CRJU 341 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Juvenile Delinquency, Structural Level, Anomie

• School: USC, SC, Carolina, South Carolina
• Department: Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Course: CRJU 341
• Professor: Deena Isom

Document Summary

A(cid:374)s(cid:449)ers structural le(cid:448)el (cid:894)(cid:449)h(cid:455) does cri(cid:373)e e(cid:454)ist i(cid:374) u a(cid:895) ag(cid:374)e(cid:449)"s theor(cid:455) (cid:894)(cid:449)h(cid:455) do i(cid:374)di(cid:448)iduals e(cid:374)gage i(cid:374) crime) Original strain theory (merton 1938) explains property crime not so much violent crimes. Theory of anomie (normalness society where rules or behaviors have broken down) / strain: inability to attain culturally defined goals through legitimate means (some people are unable to obtain goals through legitimate means. Individual success/ambition drives collective apart: sense of social and community values are weakened, exaggerated emphasis on economic success means that material wealth is the most important, or perhaps only goal. Morton argues the only strain there is economic strain. Aganew"s theor(cid:455) can be classified as a failure to achieve a goal, loss of something positive, and presentation of something negative. Anger and feeling of injustice may lead you to lash out at someone. Being depressed may cause someone to take drugs. Morto(cid:374)"s strai(cid:374) theor(cid:455) a(cid:374)d i(cid:374)stitutio(cid:374) a(cid:374)o(cid:373)ie theor(cid:455) focuses o(cid:374) cri(cid:373)e (cid:449)ithi(cid:374) lo(cid:449)er class.