Strain Theory During The Great Depression

Strain Theory
Imagine a world where stressors were absent. There was no worry over bills, annoying drivers, research papers, or anything that may cause stress in your life. Would there be crime in this ideal utopia? What would an individual gain from committing a crime if everyone was happy with their life in its current state? Unfortunately for us, we don’t live in this fantasy world. Every day we have to get up and shower (hopefully), and in order to do that we have to pay the water bill. In order to make sure we have the money to pay for this the majority of us need to deal with horrible drivers just to make it to work. Once we get to work we have to deal with whatever task(s) our boss has given to us that day so that we don’t get fired;

Strain theory is no different. During the 1930s, Americans were facing some of the worst, if not the worst, economical times in American history. The collapse of the stock market in 1929 lead to an era we now call “the Great Depression”. During this time extreme poverty and unemployment increased drastically, along with suicide and crime rates, particularly murder rates (Siegel 2010, p. 44). Robert Merton’s influence for the development of strain theory came from his observation of how influential the economic institutions were in regards to all other social factors. He drew heavily from Emile Durkheim’s earlier concept of anomie, or normlessness, to develop his own theoretical structure (Merton 1938; Merton

216). Strain due to a lack of access to legitimate means that would help an individual obtain the culturally accepted goals (e.g., wealth) is more commonly seen in the lower classes. More of than not, the poor and minorities in our society usually not have the resources needed (e.g., education) to help them succeed in accomplishing their goals. Thus, these individuals are handicapped and at a disadvantage when it comes to being able to escape from the lower class (Wilson, 2009). Merton identified five responses to this means and end dilemma. The first one of these adaptations was conformity. This is the most widely practiced form of adaptation. Conformists buy into the conventional goals of society and they believe they need to work hard in order to achieve these goals. These people strive for success through hard work. Even if they realize that their aspirations may be a little high, they continue to follow social rules (Gomme, 2007) and “grin and bear it” (Winfree & Abadinsky, 2003) the legitimate way. If they fail to achieve their goals, they place the blame upon themselves and still strive harder to obtain