Concluding Lecture Notes on Anomie/Strain Theory

Last Thursday I did manage to present Merton's "Anomie" Theory of criminal and deviant behavior, along with a couple later modifications: Cohen's "status deprivation" and Cloward and Ohlin's "differential access to illegitimate opportunities. Let me, then wrap this up with some critical comments about the theory.

F. Research on this theory offers mixed support. Looking at official figures, the inverse relationship between social class and crime does appear to hold up (i.e., the lower the class the higher the crime rate), especially considering serious offenses. There is less of a class difference when considering minor offenses.

1. There is even a mixed picture when we consider the relationship between unemployment and crime. Citing a couple of studies from the 1980s, Prof. Akers observes: "...there is little evidence that unemployment motivates people to commit criminal acts. Moreover, crime is as likely to affect unemployment as vice versa." (especially these days with widespread drug testing in the workplace)

2. Focusing just on the so-called "social structural correlates" of crime such as social class, pverty, unemployment, racial heterogeneity, there is some fairly strong evidence of the influence of such factors. And this is seen as consistent with Merton's anomie theory. (Although one could still point out, this does not help us to sort out why only some individuals, and far from the majority, who live in these crime-prone social conditions get involved in crime.)

Concluding Comment About Macro Theories

A. Despite some of the problems we've seen with both Social Disorganization and Anomie/Strain theories (our two macro theories), I would endorse the general policy implications that Prof. Akers describes well in the following:

"The ultimate policy implications of any structural theory is that basic social changes need to be fostered to remove the criminogenic features of economic, political, and social institutions of society. The clear implication of anomie theory, for instance, is to promote the integration of cultural goals and socially approved means, and the redistribution of opportunities in the class system."
("The Cheating Culture" book that had a nice description of Merton's theory draws a similar conclusion regarding how to address cheating.)
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That's all for now. I will post some notes about more contemporary theories in the near future. Tomorrow (Tues. 10/12), of course, we are going to break new ground in discussing "Crime Types." I will be reporting briefly on the Preface and Chapter 1, and then we will hear a family report on Chapter 2: Homicide and Assault.