Is Social Class Related to Crime? An individual’s status in a socio-economical society correlates to the amount and type of crime committed. Correlation between social class and crime has been a long-standing debate in criminology. Specifically, the class with a low socioeconomic status commits more crime than the class with a high socioeconomic status. The way an individual socializes and is developed throughout their process identity formation affects the chances of becoming a criminal. It is stated in a study that the longer a child grows up in a poor neighbourhood, the more harmful the future impact is when it comes to education, employment, and income (University of Michigan, 2011). Robert Merton’s strain theory explains his beliefs
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As an individual develops, they go through the process Mead called, “identity formation” - where socialization takes place in molding a person’s self-image (Dunn, 1998). “Socialization is the development of culture within a person, teaching him or her values, norms and roles” (Weidl,2013). In this process, if an individual is socialized inadequately, it is more likely they will become a criminal. George Herbert Mead, along with psycho-analyst Sigmund Freud, both believed that parents, along with the rest of the family, are agents of primary socialization. Primary socialization is where we learn the norms, values, and roles as a member of a society. This is the starting stages of where the self begins to develop through the family’s norms and values. Following, is secondary socialization - the later process of socialization that is taught by education, peer groups, and other agents of socialization such as mass media or social institutions (Difference Between, 2015). In fact, according to a new study, growing up in a working class family in a poor neighbourhood can significantly reduce the chances of a child graduating from high school (University of Michigan, 2011). David J. Harding, a researcher in this study, stated that after assessing the neighbourhoods of children aged 1-17, they concluded that living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood during one’s childhood can affect their cognitive development years, or even generations later (Wodtke, Harding, & Elwert,
As an individual develops, they go through the process Mead called, “identity formation” - where socialization takes place in molding a person’s self-image (Dunn, 1998). “Socialization is the development of culture within a person, teaching him or her values, norms and roles” (Weidl,2013). In this process, if an individual is socialized inadequately, it is more likely they will become a criminal. George Herbert Mead, along with psycho-analyst Sigmund Freud, both believed that parents, along with the rest of the family, are agents of primary socialization. Primary socialization is where we learn the norms, values, and roles as a member of a society. This is the starting stages of where the self begins to develop through the family’s norms and values. Following, is secondary socialization - the later process of socialization that is taught by education, peer groups, and other agents of socialization such as mass media or social institutions (Difference Between, 2015). In fact, according to a new study, growing up in a working class family in a poor neighbourhood can significantly reduce the chances of a child graduating from high school (University of Michigan, 2011). David J. Harding, a researcher in this study, stated that after assessing the neighbourhoods of children aged 1-17, they concluded that living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood during one’s childhood can affect their cognitive development years, or even generations later (Wodtke, Harding, & Elwert,