Strain Paper

Brooke O’Gara

Professor Jackson

March 19, 2013

Strain Theory Paper

Strain theory begins in Vold’s Theoretical Criminology by Thomas Bernard, Jeffery Snipes, and Alexander Gerould. This chapter begins with Durkheim’s idea of anomie, a breakdown in society to regulate norms. When someone becomes anomic, they create their own set of norms outside of societal norms. Robert Merton adapted Durkheim’s theory to American society. He argued that certain societal conditions were related to high crime rates in America, he called this societal structural strain. He continued to say that goals of Americans stem from culture, not a natural goal. Individuals unable to achieve these goals in conventional ways, turn to alternate ways outside societal norms to achieve goals. The main goal he sees in American society is acquiring wealth. Wealth adds to a person’s worth, prestige, and social status. The idea is that everyone has an equal opportunity to be able to achieve wealth. A problem arises when the institutionalized means do not provide any reward unless wealth is obtained. People who cannot achieve wealth through the society accepted means feel a sense of strain, mostly people within the lower class. Since fewer opportunities are available to those in the lower class, more crime tends to occur within the lower class because institutional means are extremely limited(Vold).

Merton talks about adaptations people experiencing anomie tend to turn to when goals cannot be reached. First is the adaptation of conformity, accepting the culture’s goals and obtaining them through conventional means. The second adaptation is innovation, a way of achieving the societal goal of wealth by unconventional means. Another adaption is ritualism, rejecting the possibility of wealth but still working in conventional ways. The next adaptation is retreatism, dropping out from both of the societal norms. He says this occurs not because of no belief in the culture, but because there is no...