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Essay on social control theory
Social control theory analysis
The concept of social control
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For the purpose of this research, the proposed theories that will be used are Agnew’s General Strain Theory and Labeling Theory. Robert Agnew is one the most recognizable theorist in the criminal justice profession. General Strain Theory is influential very influential with explaining juvenile delinquency. Agnew’s Strain theory is not the main theory of this research but when examining juvenile delinquency as a whole and the beginning it gives an explanation for that not in social science. This theory is used as the basic foundation to discuss the reasoning of why youth may began to commit crime to begin with Juvenile delinquency is an issue to continue rises in society without a proper solution. Similar to adult’s juveniles have a tendency to recidivate as well. The foundation of Agnew’s Theory comes from Sociologist Emilee Durkheim and Robert Merton, which are both vital. Durkheim defines anomie, which is the characterization of social regulation of how people my interact with one another. Merton discuss the structure of society that people live in and how there is too much emphas...
The Yates’ unconventional standard of living along with the social belief that a woman’s role is to be the homemaker could have created anxiety and undue pressure on Andrea. Their pastor and mentor, Woroniecki “preached that parents were ultimately responsible for the souls of their children” and if children were behaving poorly the parents should “commit suicide rather than cause their children to stumble and go to hell” (Lancet 1952). The Yates lived on Woroniecki’s converted bus for two years with Noah, John, and Paul—all of which toddlers—while Andrea tried to be content because she “thought [she] was helping [her] husband and trying to do what [Rusty] wanted”(Park & Dietz 9). Upon giving birth to her fourth child, Andrea had her first major bout with postpartum depression, followed by several psychotic breaks.
The theory I choose that I feel best represents the story would have to be the strain theory. I feel this theory best fits because I believe that society does put a lot of pressure into individuals, especially in the black community. Most of the high crime rates come from the black individuals due to the pressure that is put into them from trying to survive in the cruel world we live in. There is more pressure in the black community for reasons that racism still exists and stereotyping is still an issue in society. When certain people from society see a black person they automatically start assuming they are all criminals, drug addicts, uneducated, problematic and have no good future ahead of them. The strain theory comes from Robert K.
The study of Juvenile delinquency and the theories pertaining to it are vital for several reasons. In order to more effectively engage with youths and foster positive behavior and schemas, the individuals must first be understood. The study of theory provides a means of understanding adolescents and the factors that lead to or detract from delinquent behavior. In the case of juvenile delinquent, Jordan Brown, theory helps to provide insight into why an eleven-year-old boy murdered his stepmother.
According to Robert Agnew, “Strain Theory is based on the idea that delinquency results when individuals are unable to achieve their goals through legitimate channels, achievement or strike out at the source of their frustration in anger”. (Agnew, R. (1985). A Revised Strain Theory of Delinquency. Oxford journals. 64(1).151-166). The norms are violated to alleviate the strain that accompanies failure. When a good look is taken at the theories the strains might not only come from peoples frustrations with acquiring “ The American Dream”, but it becomes a mixture of strains such as economic deprivation, abuse, neglect, or the loss of a loved one. However, most people that experience strains do not commit crimes.
General Strain Theory was reinvented by Robert Agnew in 1992 and contributed a new perception to the present strain theory that was popularized a couple eras ago (Agnew, 1992). Classic strain theory is connected; first with Merton’s (1938), Cohen’s (1955) and Cloward and Ohlin’s (1960). Founded on Durkheim’s theory of anomie (1893), Merton industrialized his theory of deviancy inside a societal fundamental context. Merton’s interpretation on the topic is that goal-expectation inconsistencies, composed with social stratification generates strain between underprivileged societies in turn leading them to use any means necessary, such as criminal, in order to accomplish socially defined goals (Merton, 1938). Merton specified that deviance was a
The purpose of the criminal law is to balance of rights for individuals in society to achieve justice. The criminal law is continually reforming in an attempt to achieve justice for young offenders, as it is an issue of the criminal law. This essay will examine the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in relation to young offenders therefore looking at various aspects of the juvenile justice system. The criminal justice system does provide some effective and relevant concessions for young offenders. However, due to its focus on incarceration and punishment rather than on preventative measures, the criminal justice system is effective to an extent
There are many theories to choose from and I decided to choose and focus on general strain theory. I chose general strain theory because I believe this particular theory applies to a lot of people across the United States, especially those people who are in the middle class and below. First I am going to explain what general strain theory is and what Agnew finds most important about it. Secondly, what micro level components are used in this theory and how they affect people. Lastly, I am going to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of general strain theory. Not everyone falls victim to general strain theory because not everyone is in the same social and economical predicament. A lot of people are unfortunate to go through these strains/stressors of life and it all comes down to how one chooses to deal with the hand life dealt them.
The analyst analyses the process of development of the attitude and social stigma attached to youth and then makes reverse action for delinking youth with demonization. When youth is demonized in terms of crime they tend to align themselves with one stereotype of social values and move away from other but more necessary social values (Goldson and Muncie, 2009). Moreover, the highlighting of youth in mass media also makes these youth confined to their negative roles as mass media makes these criminals more important and psychologically they tend to attract the immediate attention they receive. The attention may be for the wrong reasons but the criminals interpret it as different and consider it as fame and glory. The policy analyst needs to identify the political motivation behind demonizing youth into criminals and attend to the specific belief to address the rise of such illegitimate magnification. The juvenile system of care and welfare has been taking new forms and gets demanded to be renewed as the old efforts have not been able to curb the recurrence of juvenile and youth crimes (Musto, 2002), but has in fact segregated the rich and poor even terms of equal treatment. These factors of wilful and policy motivated practices of segregation further leads the
General Strain Theory was discussed by Robert Agnew, and first published in 1992. According to General Strain Theory individuals engage in crime because of strains or stressors which produce anger and anxiety (Agnew, 1992). Crimes become the outlet that the individual uses to cope with or remedy the strains or stressors. Agnew states that there are three different types of deviance producing strains.
The main aim of this essay is to describe two general theories of offending and then consider the extent to which they explain youth offending. This essay will firstly outline the context of the labelling theory then go on to discuss the way in which a label becomes a person’s master status in life. The essay will then compare the differences with primary and secondary deviance and define the term self fulfilling prophecy. The second stage of the essay will describe the learning theory, explaining the background including all the terms, classical conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning theory. Furthermore, it will then go on to explore the research and describe the extent to which both theories explain youth offending. Finally, the essay will compare and contrast the two theories and evaluate any of the assets or implications.
Some of the explanations of delinquency insinuates that education, politics, social factors, family issues among others are the main causes of delinquency (Rutter, 2013).Just as these were some of the factors in “There Are No Children Here”. In addition, criminal investigators formulated several theories which explain causes of delinquency. Among them are social factors which are explained through several theories which include Social Reaction Theory also referred to as Labeling theory and Power control
General strain theory - for each individual case, a persona may have strains on them that make them resort to crime. Extreme instances of attempting to assassinate president. “a range of strains or stressors contribute to crime, including strains involving the presentation of negative stimuli (e.g., verbal and physical abuse), the loss of positive stimuli (e.g., the death of friends and family), and the inability to achieve valid goals (e.g. monetary, status, and masculinity) James W. Clarke (1982) literary work on assassins proposes three types of assassins. Chart 1 defines the three types of assassins: He also suggests 12 “situational indicators of dangerousness” for assassinators or would-be assassinators: suspicions behavior in proximity to the political figure , weapons possession, threats, ideological intensity, stalking, interest in victim, interest in assassins, occupational instability, transience, family estrangement, attention seeking, and suicidal tendencies.
Therefore, if the individual role amongst his conventional group and his institutional group is failure, then he or she will participate in crime and commit to what is expected of him, through these groups, once strain causes bonds to weaken a youth is free to engage in delinquency.
The main focus of the essay will be the implications of labelling theory and how it affects individuals. It also will be focusing on the creation of particular categories of criminals when labelling theory is applied, in addition it will outline what labelling theory is, how it affects people and how it effects the creation of criminal categories. The purpose of this essay is to allow a better understanding of labelling theory and its implication on creating criminal categories.
These acts consist of anything the juveniles can think of. The definition of delinquency and status offense is needed in order to understand why the types of crimes juveniles commit. “Failure to obey parents, not going to school, or running away from home” is defined as status offense (Cam, 2014). “Everything related to illegal acts, both status offense and criminal, that is done by a minor” is defined as delinquent behavior (Cam, 2014). These minors carrying out these actions are called juvenile delinquents. These delinquents are managed by being put in two different groups. These two groups are major crimes and non-major crimes. Since, major crimes will be the preliminary topic in this paper, a definition is given that is defined by the FBI. “Murder, aggravated assault, rape, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny theft, and arson are categorized as serious crimes” (Cam,