General Strain Theory: Macro-Formal Study

When undergraduate students arrive at university they are bombarded with new experiences. Students in their undergraduate years are discovering themselves and pushing themselves to be strong competitors amongst thousands. In high school, grades are seen to represent whom a student is as an individual and how they can express themselves, but in university grades are dependant on the ‘competitors’ due to bell curves and other grading structures. Students are constantly pushed to reach the near impossible expectations of the top universities. Therefore many students turn to the non-conventional study aid of prescription drugs to deal with stress. Despite the rapid spread of prescription drug misuse among undergraduate students, the problem can be …show more content…
Social control theory concentrates on deterrents to deviant behaviours such as prescription drug misuse. The theory is analyzed to understand student’s social bond in four specific components: attachment, commitment, involvement and belief. Finally, the general strain theory evaluates lack of motivators, such as academic or athletic successes, in an individual. General Strain theory can result in deviant behaviours that are either to avoid adverse situations or to lash out under specific circumstances (Schroeder 2012:8). General Strain theory identifies an individual’s stressors, emotions and strains that go hand in hand with being an undergraduate student at highly competitive universities. By highlighting these three theories universities will be better able to predict likely outbursts of prescription drug misuse among their student body. While the situation will never be completely solved, it would be a step in the right direction to encourage their students to use their natural abilities