The Theory Of General Strain Theory Essay

Early versions of strain theory were not supported initially and came under criticism due to the inherent theoretical limitations as well as a lack of an empirical support for their propositions (Agnew and Passas, 1997; Burton, Cullen, & Evans, 1994; Kornhauser, 1978). The main argument of classic strain theories is that individuals, under a disadvantage caused by the discrepancy among the lower class demographic, are pressured to achieve certain universal goals. Failing to achieve them through legitimate avenues, they resort to

The principal theory that I will be discussing is General Strain Theory and the act of deviance I will be connecting it to is bullying. General Strain Theory (GST) was formulated by Robert Agnew. Agnew shaped this theory by expanding from Robert King Merton’s structural inconsistencies. The theme strain was prominent during the 1940s to the 1950s. When strain is applied to individuals, it concerns the effect of straining events or circumstances. Furthermore, problems that may arise is as abuse, extreme poverty, or social failure causing for the individual to seek relief or rage. One way that those individuals will seek relief is by criminal behavior. Some stressors are created by cultural and social expectations, stress caused by failure or

Classic Strain Theory, as introduced and defined by Robert Merton, is a Social Structure Theory used to help explain the effect one’s community, most notably lower class areas, has on their ability to achieve predetermined goals, usually considered culturally normal. Merton theorized that all people in a various culture and social structure have similar values, goals, and norms. He stated that within this social structure there are individuals who come from affluent upbringing and are therefore more likely achieve these goals, and most likely this will be attained through legitimate, culturally acceptable means. There are however, Merton said, lower class areas where individuals suffer from lack of educational and economic opportunities

Moving forward with the General Strain Theory, Robert Agnew, in collaboration Timothy Brezina, John P. Wright and Francis T. Cullen aimed to examine the relation between personality traits, such as negative emotionality and low constraint, strain and delinquency (2002). The researchers hypothesized that "individuals high in negative emotionality are much more likely than are others to experience events as aversive, ..., to experience intense emotional reactions to these events-particularly the key emotion of anger.. and to be disposed to respond to such events in an aggressive or antisocial manner" (Agnew, et al. 2002, 46). The researchers study was based on cross-sectional data from second wave of the "National Survey of Children" (Furstenberg

Strain Theory related individual’s misbehavior as being directly related to negative treatment from others, resulting in anger and frustration on part of the individual. Agnew’s General Strain Theory was able to identify the ways you could measure strain, what the different types were and the ability to identify the connection between strain and crime. Agnew’s General Strain Theory presented that our social structures within society pressures members of society to commit crime. Agnew’s theory states that when someone is treated badly, they will act out and commit crime. Agnew’s theory focused primarily on the lower class with not much focus on the middle or upper class.

Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory claims that strain eventually leads to crime—ultimately his theory ultimately helps to explain why one commits crime. Agnew further explains his theory by saying “when people are treated badly, they may get upset and engage in crime. In Explaining Criminals and Crime, Paternoster and Bachman provide more examples “they may assault the peers who mistreat them, run away from the parents who abuse them, or take drugs to make themselves feel better”. General Strain Theory, or GST, can be measured in two ways; the first, and most direct, way would be asking the individual how they feel about the way they are being treated in the situation or the relationship as a whole—this provides the researcher with subjective

Introduction: Throughout history there have always been many different theories of crime and why people commit crimes. In the late 1930s a new theory rose to the forefront; this theory was called the anomie theory. Anomie means a lack of ethical standards. The anomie theory was proposed by Roberton Merton. It stated that society, as a whole, generally shares the same goals relating to having success in life; whether that is having a family, wealth, power, or just happiness. Society generally agrees that these are things that are to be sought after. Furthermore, Merton proposed that society, as a whole, also has a list of generally accepted ways to achieve such goals (Merton, 1938). Criminal activity, such as robbery, murder, and corruption, are among the things that are not accepted by society as appropriate means to achieve these goals. Merton’s anomie theory was built upon in 1992 by Robert Agnew who developed the general strain theory. General strain theory argues that when members of society are unable to achieve the general goals that society has set forth, they will, in order to avoid further rejection, further alienate themselves from society. Agnew also argued that if these individuals feel as if their shortcomings were a result of their environment failing them they will likely develop very negative feelings towards society, causing them to

Another relevant theory in regards to the pattern of juvenile delinquency is Strain Theory. In 1938, Robert Merton developed the theory of Strain to describe how social structures within society may pressure citizens (low socioeconomic status) to commit crimes. Merton felt that too much pressure to achieve goals, such as financial well-being, led to behaviors such as selling drugs. Merton’s theory relates to juvenile delinquency in that adolescents might experience overwhelming stress or pressure in their peer groups to have more money, to fit in, or to be influential. These social stressors will perpetuate delinquency because the teens will want to participate in criminal activity to solve such problems. In 1992, Robert Agnew

Other strain theories believe that strain results from a failure to obtain goals. Agnew agrees with this, however also includes two other categories that can result from strain and frustration. These include “presentation of noxious stimuli” and “removal of positively

General strain theory shifts attention away from economic status to a social psychological syndrome of experiencing negative emotions arising from strains or negative dimensions in one’s environment (Friedrichs 2010). In other words, strain theory is simply having a goal but lacking the method of achieving said goal. Thus, the person becomes innovative in creating a method which allows them achieve their goal, usually thru illegal means, as in Kerviel’s

Social Control Theory presents the idea that all humans maintain an inclination to act in a violent manner and the sole thing that prevents an individual from conceding to that inclination is the social connection they have with others; when this connection is hindered by abuse or neglect, the child is driven toward his or her impulse of violence and crime (Currie and Tekin 4). The last theory, Social-Psychological Strain Theory, suggests that the stress that is caused by abuse also has a role in driving an individual towards criminal activity (Currie and Tekin 4).

Positivist theories maintain that prostitution can be viewed as determined behavior that is a product of a particular causation. This means that a causal explanatory theory can be applied to help explain why people engage in prostitution. One such theory that explains prostitution is Robert Merton’s “Strain theory.” The strain theory is a school of thought that states that society puts pressure on people to accomplish certain socially accepted goals. Many people struggle to cope with the pressure to achieve these goals because they lack the necessary means and this causes strain on these individuals which in turn pushes them to get involved in socially unapproved practices in order to achieve the socially approved goals. Because of the pressure, people

Across the nation, social scientists and criminologists have researched and hypothesized the main contributing factors that promote juvenile delinquency. The Strain/ Anomie theory introduced by Robert Merton and later revised by several other theorists, attempts to explain why juvenile subculture tend to behave certain ways when confronted with pressures from everyday life. Revised by other theorists, the Strain theory attempts to provide the framework of juvenile delinquency and its sources in order to analyze the effectiveness of this assumption, as well as to implement certain crime prevention policies and programs to curb this problem. This paper is going to analyze how the Strain theory contributes it’s principles of delinquency

The book “Crime and the American Dream” is an example of the Strain Theory. Social class and living conditions are some of the factors that increases the vulnerability of a certain group to commit crimes. People are eager to be part of the ideology of the dream that the United States has to offer. The United States promise people that if they form part of the American society they will be successful and have the opportunities that they did not have in their home country. Most people believe that since the United States is the land of opportunity. Many people come to this country chasing the American dream while leaving behind the restrictions of their home land.

Strain and Deviance: An Empirical Research of General Strain Theory in a Philippine Public University