General Strain Theory: Genius? Or Lazy Before one can began to understand General Strain Theory and it being significant or not, one must first understand its forefather, strain theory. A once widely accepted theory to explain deviance and criminality that began as early as the late 1800s and Emile Durkheim,, strain theory continued to receive support for decades receiving more and more input as time went along. In the 1970s and 1980s however, as a result of deviance research done in the 1960s, the criminologist community completely lost faith in strain theory. Most intellectuals in the field wanted it to be tossed aside altogether but it did manage to survive through it.
One criminologist, a Dr. Robert Agnew, believed that strain theory …show more content…
So now let’s dive into the origins and reasoning behind strain theory before going into General Strain Theory. First suggested by Emile Durkheim (the father of sociology) and later developed by Robert Merton, strain theory focused on anomie. Anomie in itself occurs when there is a breakdown in social norms and when there is a breakdown in an individual’s social norms it creates an individual who could be more perceptible to being deviant. Strain theory was widely accepted as a legitimate source of though when trying to explain crime and deviance up until the 1960s when through testing and the collecting of date, the empirical evidence showed little support for the theory. That being said, many researchers (including Agnew) have stated that due to inaccurate collection of data from that time period and an oversimplification of strain theory itself, the data was simply misperceived and actually supported strain theory rather than act against it. Some original components of strain theory stated that an increase in aspirations and a decrease in expectations should lead to an increase in delinquency, most deviance occurred in the lower class, and the concept of ‘aging out of crime’(that deviant activity decreased for an individual as they grew
One criminologist, a Dr. Robert Agnew, believed that strain theory …show more content…
So now let’s dive into the origins and reasoning behind strain theory before going into General Strain Theory. First suggested by Emile Durkheim (the father of sociology) and later developed by Robert Merton, strain theory focused on anomie. Anomie in itself occurs when there is a breakdown in social norms and when there is a breakdown in an individual’s social norms it creates an individual who could be more perceptible to being deviant. Strain theory was widely accepted as a legitimate source of though when trying to explain crime and deviance up until the 1960s when through testing and the collecting of date, the empirical evidence showed little support for the theory. That being said, many researchers (including Agnew) have stated that due to inaccurate collection of data from that time period and an oversimplification of strain theory itself, the data was simply misperceived and actually supported strain theory rather than act against it. Some original components of strain theory stated that an increase in aspirations and a decrease in expectations should lead to an increase in delinquency, most deviance occurred in the lower class, and the concept of ‘aging out of crime’(that deviant activity decreased for an individual as they grew