Social Disorganization Theory Stemmed from The Polish Peasant in Europe and America by W.I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki

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Many of the theories and perspectives we have in criminology and sociology today have stemmed from the infamous sociology department, otherwise known as the “Chicago School”. Its emphasis on studying people and the natural interactions they have with their surroundings has led to the extensive examination of numerous neighbourhoods within Chicago. Social disorganization theory was one of the many theories that developed from this ecological thinking. It sought to identify the social problems that arose from rapid urbanization and industrialization. This paper will detail the elements associated with social disorganization theory, as well as supportive evidence of its validity and generalizability. Social disorganization theory originally stemmed from W.I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki in their book called The Polish Peasant in Europe and America, in which they chronicled the adjustments of Polish immigrants as they transitioned from Europe to the urban neighbourhoods of Chicago (Cartwright, 2013). This coincided with the population increase of the city, which grew exponentially in size as well due to immigrants from Europe, African-Americans from the South, and farmers from rural areas (Cartwright, 2011, 76). The sudden influx of people created several new problems, mainly due to overcrowding and the lack of economic resources from various migrant groups that led to increased criminality. Park and Burgess also emerged during this time with the concentric zone theory. It posits that the city of Chicago grew in ringed zones, which would continue to spread outwards to accommodate the expansion. The business district would be located at the center of the city where the industrial and commercial buildings are located. The central... ... middle of paper ... ...arious counties. The counties they sampled mostly consisted of towns and smaller cities with a population under 50,000 (Osgood & Chambers, 2000, p. 90). Their findings revealed that the theory had great generalizability to the rural communities, where arrest rates of juveniles were significantly related to the factors proposed. However, their research also showed that poverty and residential instability were negatively correlated. This would go against the proposition that poverty would lead to social disorganization in the traditional theory (Osgood & Chambers, 2000, p. 103). The studies by Sampson and Groves, Bursik and Grasmick, and Osgood and Chambers all helped expand the social disorganization theory. Their individual studies gave empirical support to the original theory and solidified its status as a valid and relevant explanation for crime and deviance.

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