Integrated Theories: A Comparative Analysis

The concept of integrated theories was a question that I had asked myself about midway through this course. Even as we progressed into new theories and concepts, I could not help but wonder why there were some many new theories when certain concepts and ideas just needed to be fine-tuned or adjusted. I understand why there is a need to try different tactics because of the many different variables and situations that may arise in society. That is the idea behind integrated theories, in an attempt to explain criminality researchers should try to combine ideas from various sources, teachings, and models. The idea of merging concepts became a necessity in which scholars recognized that the cause of criminality could not be solely explained through

To accurately produce a new idea the focus must be placed on integrating and not elaborating on the already presented theories. There are three types of integration, deductive, parallel, and sequential. Deductive integration refers dealing with concepts or ideas from top to bottom. Parallel synthesis which is the creation of a plan to divide the problem, into a type of crime versus the conflict. Then there is sequential integration where you put the theories next to each other in order where the independent and dependent variables can be introduced into the other idea and then creating a third theory and so on (Schmalleger, 2012). A famous example of a sequential integration was Elliot’s Integrated Theory which combined social control, strain theory and social learning theory in an attempt to attack patterns in criminal activity. The argument was based on the ideas that the childhood socialization process is crucial to each element in the social bond. It is the exposure to delinquent peers that weakens the conventional bonds. Another integrated theory is Thornberry’s Interactional Theory that combined social structure, control, and learning

Like the researchers of the past, I also learned to consider all of the contributing factors as it relates to criminality and what causes crime. In my profession, I have always been aware of crime families, juvenile delinquency, and the impact of an individual's social life as it relates to their development. After several weeks in this course will be able to recognize, applied, address principles concerning crime causation. I tend to show favoritism the social structure theories. I believe that those ideas are so important in trying to seek the origin of juvenile delinquency. As a society, we need pay close attention to the youth, in the event we can prevent deviant behaviors. The Uniform Crime Reporting Program which was established by the FBI in 1929 has been the consistent way that crime data has been gathered in the United States. It was created by the Association of Chiefs of Police who saw the need for uniform crime statistics for police departments and policy makers (Schmalleger, 2012). These statistics and data are also important to criminologist as they pursue the origins of crime and individuals who commit