The last theory strain theory was introduced by Emile Durkheim. The fundamental assumptions made were that people are naturally moral, we need motivations to engage in delinquency, and variations in delinquency is a result of different reactions to different types and levels of strains that individuals/ groups experience. The basic proposition is that we would not engage in delinquency unless pressured by motivations and that social conditions can force delinquency on to people. Robert Merton eventually applied Durkheim’s approach to the condition of modern industrial societies. For a society to be functional, there must be a balance between the goals and the means to achieve these goals. A disjuncture emerges when there is a lack of balance
