How Far Do Functionalist Theories of Subculture Help Our Understanding of the Relationship Between Deviance and the Social Structure?

How far do functionalist theories of subculture help our understanding of the relationship between deviance and the social structure?

The Functionalist theories of subcultures have emerged out of Robert Merton’s strain theory. Merton’s strain theory (1938) is adapted from Durkheim’s concept of anomie and states that people engage in deviance when they are unable to achieve the goals society has set them by legitimate means. Merton then explains this in two factors, firstly structural factors, which is society’s unequal opportunity structure. And the second is cultural factors, such as the strong emphasis on success goals and weaker emphasis on using legitimate means the obtain them. So for Merton deviance is a result of strain between the goals that a culture encourages individuals to achieve, such as an expensive car, and what the institutional structure of society allows them to achieve legitimately, for example weather the individual steals an expensive car or gets a job and saves money to buy one.

Cohen (1955) accepts Merton’s strain theory and that it can explain some crimes within adults, but he argues that it fails to draw to attention delinquency in younger people. To do this Cohen has created his theory of status frustration. This explains that structural factors in society cause some working class (w.c) youths to commit crime through 3 steps. Firstly w.c youths begin life accepting middle class (m.c) norms and values such as honesty and material success which have been socialised into them by their family, school or the media. Secondly w.c children then have fewer opportunities to achieve m.c values through legitimate means, like doing well at school, so far this supports Merton’s strain theory. This then leads to groups of w.c children begging to suffer from status frustration and begin to deviate from normal rules of society, which is where Cohen makes his point. Some w.c children now make the decision to reject all m.c norms and values as a result...