Essays on Strain Theory

Robert Agnew developed a model in criminology, General Strain Theory, which recounts that there exist numerous variables that influence the effect of strain on criminal activities. The concept is one of the leading models in this subject. Notably, the existence of a range of strains increases the likelihood of crime. Primarily, to enhance criminal coping, the convergence of individual factors is necessary (Agnew 2013). Coping skills and resources, peer influence, and lack of self-control are among variables that increase the likelihood of crime. Social structures in society are a major component in determining the level of crime in that ...

INTRODUCTION

Today the modern world is dealing with a number of serious issues all across the globe, like warfare, terrorism and civil and social unrest. This is currently the case in the United States. There has always been debate and protest among the diverse people of America, but that has seemed to increase over the last few years. There has been a great deal of political and ethical based arguments that are heatedly debated, from political, religious and societal levels. Most recently some of these issues are related to police violence, racial divides, women’s rights and the recent Presidential ...

On most occasions, the society delegates high expectations upon individuals and tasks them to achieve these goals in spite of their limited capabilities. This phenomenon is explained by Robert K. Merton’s strain theory. Merton asserts that most people will engage in crimes and other socially deviant activities to be able to achieve certain goals (Wright, 2008). For example, Merton’s Strain Theory can be used to explain why a student will engage in cheating in exams. Academic success is an example of a socially acceptable goal. The society is of the opinion that education is the key to ...

INTRODUCTION

Throughout human history there has always been crime, from the most petty of crimes to the most heinous of criminal injury, abuses and murder. The most gruesome of crimes are those involving murder, whether premeditated or “heat of the moment,” which carry heavy criminal consequences. These cases are tragic, but no murders are more disturbing and shocking than those committed by serial murderers. These are killers who torture, dismember and murder victims in very specific and very ugly ways that are an extension of the killer’s needs. There have been many serial killers who have become famous for ...

Application of strain theory to the criminal case for Beverly Allitt

Application of strain theory to the criminal case for Beverly Allitt

Background information on Beverly Allitt

Beverly Allitt is a British female nurse convicted of murder and attempted murder charges in May 1993 after killing four babies and attempting to kill nine others (Marks & Richmond 2008). Her early life demonstrated incidences of attention-seeking through unconventional means such as causing injury to others or feigning illnesses. The height of her pretence was witnessed when she caused the surgical removal of her otherwise perfectly functioning appendix which she insisted was interfering with the healing of a scar she had self-inflicted. On occasions, she would tie a ...

Introduction

Digital crimes include crimes committed on the internet as well as all types of crimes, perpetrated in the sphere of information and telecommunications systems. In this regard, the subject of the offense is all information resources and technologies, whereas the purpose of this violation is the criminal trespasses. In short, cybercrime regarding the non-legal intervention in the work of computers, software and computer nets as well as an unauthorized modification of any digital data refer to the legal categories, where the object of the crime is the information security, whereas the computer is the subject. If we consider cybercrime ...

The three main theories of social structure are the social disorganization theory, strain theory and culture conflict theory. These theories explain the various perspectives of crime with respect to society. All three theories have their own representation for the crime. The social disorganization theory represents the relation between crime and society in a pathological framework where the society is the body or organism whereas the crime is a parasite and disease which creates a deviance. These theories mainly relate to the ecological setup of society and were developed in the 1920s and 1930s (“Social structure theories,” n.d.). According to ...

In Gridiron Gang, the character of Willie Weathery had many factors that could explain why he became delinquent. Family disruption, peers, gang membership, peer pressure, strain, community disorganization, social learning, low self-control and labeling are all theories and causes used to explain delinquent behavior and are all reasons why Willie Weathery engage in the delinquent act that landed him in juvenile detention. There is no single cause of delinquency. Many factors that combine to motivate a juvenile to engage in delinquent behavior.

FAMILY DISRUPTION

In the movie, Willie Weathery appears to live with his mother and younger brother. At no time ...

The living environment shapes who people are. Naturally, in neighborhoods with a negative criminogenic environment, people often go deviant, and, when they do, it often is at a relatively young age. Researchers have gone to great lengths to study the underlying causes of delinquent behavior of young residents. Poverty appears to be one of the principal driving forces of offenders long with income disproportion, albeit to a far lesser extent. The blockade of opportunities or the means to achieve culturally acceptable norms in the society is also an important motivation. While race is not universally found to cause delinquency, ...

In any society, there exists an interaction between people of different backgrounds and characters. Hence, it calls for legal checks to ensure a good relationship within the occupants of the region. The wrongdoers in any society are monitored and punished by the law enforcers in that particular locality. While investigating any crime committed, the law enforcers use a stipulated procedure and apply various criminology theories to understand the offense adequately for proper evaluation. In this article, criminological theories will be assessed, and there is a review of their application in crime analysis procedure. Through criminology, criminals, and their behavior ...

According to Merton’s strain theory, the set-up of the society is in a way that it promotes deviance by people. Merton argues that the structure of the society regarding accepted goals or norms that people have to achieve piles more pressure on the people to conform to the structure (Vito and Maahs 2011). Individuals have to adhere to society culture or be termed part of the deviant subculture. Merton’s view was that the society should be responsible for the provision of resources or support to the people to enable them attains cultural goals. The lack of support ...

Throughout history, Americans have been documented to have abused various drugs starting from precolonial times America as it is well documented that Christopher Columbus, the explorer that discovered America, found other mind-affecting drugs which he brought back to Europe on his first voyage to modern-day (Elaine, n.d.). However, until the late 1880s, prohibitionists and abstentionists had an easy time in addressing the drug abuse among the population, since all the supply point was known and easily identified. Nonetheless, the country failed to have a comprehensive legal framework that was engineered to address the drug abuse problem due to rapid ...

Crime statistics remains an essential component in the field of criminology that helps in formulating effective criminal justice policy. For over four decades, the Uniform Crime Reporting System (UCR), the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), and its predecessor National Crime Survey (NCS) has been used in the United States to gather crime statistics. These methods have been used at the national level to estimate the crime and changes in the crime rates in the United States. Such data has helped the policymakers to develop sound policies that help to mitigate the problem of crime in the United States' societies ( ...

Introduction

One of the major occupations of students studying crimes is to understand how criminal behaviors come about and why individuals are induced in engaging in deviant or criminal behaviors. Theories on crime and delinquency primarily explores this question to get a better understanding of individuals and society at large. Theorists drew from different fields of sciences such as sociology, psychology and biology, to find answers in uncovering individual motivations and structural inducement. One such theory that draws not only from sociology, but also from psychology, is the strain theory of Agnew. This paper provides a detailed discussion on the ...

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Abstract

This research established in the article sought to explain the issue of marriage regarding Chinese rural young women and to give the grounds if the issue served as a risk or protective factor for their suicide. The analysis included a brief summary of the main ideas of the article, the purpose of the research, key findings and consequences of the results. Moreover, the major theoretical perspective to clarify the findings was based on Emile Durkheim’s social integration theory of suicide which highlights sources of people’s social support. The observations allowed ...

Juvenile delinquency is concerned with criminal behavior by individuals regarded by law as minors. In recent times, the United States has witnessed higher levels of delinquent behavior by its youth, prompting criminologists to probe its causes and effects. In the United States, juvenile delinquency is caused by rational choice, differential association, strain theory, social disorganization and labeling, and leads to problems such as teenage pregnancies, school dropouts and ill-health. There are several documented theoretical causes of criminal behavior in juveniles. One of these is rational choice, which asserts that delinquent behavior among youngsters emanates from the offender, as ...