Anomie and Strain Theory

Anomie and Strain Theory

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Anomie and Strain Theory

Introduction

Within the study of criminals , researchers have tried to explain the influences upon behavior that results in crime . A wide range of types of criminological theories , including biological , ecological , control conflict and integrated theories , have been suggested and gained popularity . All these theories are distinct from one another , but not wholly unrelated to each other . Of importance for this endeavor are anomy and strain theories , which emphasize negative relationships between individuals that lead

to crime . The historical roots of anomie theories in criminology trace originally to Durkheim and then Merton

Durkheim and Anomie

Emile Durkheim was an important force in the development of a strain theory that explains the connection between societal change and crime Writing in reaction to Lombroso and the classical school of thought which argues that behavior is the result of biological factors , Durkheim suggested that behavior is the result of societal factors . He proposed that society regulates the "natural appetites of individuals " and at times these regulations breakdown (Void 135 . Anomie , the condition of normlessness , is the consequence of a breakdown in the conventions that instract society how to behave . The socially accepted goals , and the means of achieving those goals , have been weakened or removed , creating crime (Void . This breakdown is the result of radical , quick changes in a society

In Durkheim 's case the rapid social change was the French Revolution of 1789 and industrialization of France . At the time of writing this theory , Durkheim suggested that the traditional religious constraints in France had been deliberately destroyed and had almost lost its influence over society . He postulated that loosening these constraints resulted in an increase of suicide . This socially deviant activity extended to suggest that crime , another deviant activity , also increased (Void

Durkheim addressed the issue of economic downturns as a form of strain which could precipitate crime . He stated "in the case of economic disasters , indeed , something like a declassification occurs which suddenly casts individuals into a lower state . they must reduce their requirements , restrain their needs , learn greater control (Void 108 Individuals are not adjusted to these conditions and societal rules weaken or break down . He goes on to argue that during times of economic expansion anomie would be worse because "prosperity stimulates the appetites just at the time when the restraints on those appetites have broken down (Vold 109

Durkheim refers to the consciences in humans , incorporating both the collective and the individual , and argues the conflict between them is the main cause of social change . The conflict between the two consciences is not a mode of psychological explanation . He insists that social evolution does not originate in the psychological constitution of the human . Instead , Durkheim emphasizes that "the determining cause of a social fact should be sought among the social facts preceding it and not among the states of the individual consciousness (1982 :134 . Hence social phenomenon , such as crime , must be explained by the response of...