Juvenile Delinquency: Strain Theory

Juvenile Delinquency Strain TheoryA late deserted is a person who is typically under the age of 18 and commits an exercise that early(a)wise would have been charged as a crime if they were an adult. Depending on the type and severity of the offense committed, it is possible for persons under 18 to be charged and tried as adults (Wikipedia). Juvenile delinquency is a growing problem in the United States today. Many families atomic number 18 faced with senior high school poverty rates and mixer problems due to the con handts of living in a clinical depression income community where deviance is the nonwithstanding process to achieve success. In stray for children to succeed we must come to terms with this underlying electrical offlet and be adapted to solve this primary source. Using Robert Mertons Strain possibleness I will explain the high concentration of crime of jejune remisss in broken in income communities.Robert Merton a sociologist who coined strain theory bel ieved that tribe were pose on found paths in order to be successful in society. Merton believed that social structure rather than culture was the main problem for insubstantial dilapidateds association with crime. Using several registrations of strain theory he clarifies his argument. Merton believed in that location were five adaptations in society that you could travel in order to be successful. The five adaptations were innovation, retreatism, ritualism, conformity, and rebellion. The three I will be explaining are innovation, conformity, and rebellion. Merton states, the social structure effectively limits the possibilities of individuals within these groups to achieve this goal through the utilisation on institutionalized mean (Merton 159). If a new-fangled delinquent from a low income community has no means of getting an education or bettering himself then he is going to adapt to the societal norms that are already in existence in his social environment.For example, a juvenile delinquent grows up in the projects with low income housing, his mother is a single refer who works full time moreover can barely yield to put food on the table. In order for the juvenile delinquent to provide for himself he must find other means of income. His only means of income that he has been raised to know is removeing medicates. The juvenile delinquents strain is that he only knows deviance and crime in order to prevail. Although the juvenile delinquent is rift the normative methods of society he is still able to survive through one of the five adaptations which is innovation.Robert Mertons concept of innovation says people accept the cultural goals of a society however reject the established methods of attaining those goals (Merton 176). A vertex example of an innovator would be a drug dealer. The drug dealer has fully accepted the cultural goals that he take to complete in order to be successful. Instead of abiding by those cultural goals and delineatein g the process of achievement he uses deviance to vomit a counsel from the path of success. Same prophecy goes for the juvenile delinquent express above he must conform to innovation in order to provide for himself and his family. The juvenile delinquent has accepted his social status and low income community scarce has decided instead of going to school and stock for a good education he would rather comply and sell drugs just like his peers he has looked up to his whole life history. His social constraints prescribe his decisions and therefore he is placed in confinement. The juvenile delinquents deviance is primarily caused by his living environment and community lifestyle. He has learned the substance of crime and deviance through watching his elders and peers. The experiences that he has been a business office of discover him more prone to commit deviant acts. Merton states there are fewer legitimate opportunities to obtain wealth for the lower socioeconomic sort (Merto n 158). This means he believes that the only way that you can obtain wealth is that you must be born in the middle class or upper class of society. Merton besides says its okay non to achieve but everyone should bless an effort and try, but those who dont achieve still have slightly sort of value. The value he is trying to portray is the value you give of yourself. Even though you may struggle at first its the superior accomplishment to neer give up. The juvenile delinquent may never become wealthy or have the finer things in life but that doesnt mean he cannot make life enjoyable. If he applies himself with broad values and strives to be the best he can overcome many an(prenominal) obstacles that may derail his path. In addition to Innovation another adaptation that is prevalent in strain theory is Conformity.Conformity is the accusation that some people comply with societys norms. People are taught at a immature age the rules and punishment of society. When an individual conforms they not only lose their laissez-faire(a) ideals, but they are allowing society to dictate their thoughts and emotions. When a juvenile delinquent is established to a social group, such as a way gang, they are no daylong looked at as an outsider but rather embraced into likeness as an insider or brotherhood. Conformists are people who not only believe in the assumption of cultural achievements but also believe in the methods that allow them to reach them. The conforming processes are an easily route into societal norms and allow an individual to hide their true schedule of individualism.The last adaptation that comes into play is rebellion. Rebellion occurs when an individual rejects both culturally defined goals and means and substitutes new goals and means (citation). This means they no longer adhere to any of societal rules but create their own. A prime example would be a hip hop artist. A caboodle of times hip hop artists dont adhere to any of societys social norm s but rather rebel and show the representation of the bad boy image. The juvenile delinquent listens to hip hop music which encourages him to party, sell drugs, and make notes then more than likely he is going to want to follow that lifestyle. Music influences everything in terms of society, norms, and values. Without music how would becoming a deviant person be acceptable in our world today? approximately hip hop artists live a deviant crime fill up lifestyle everyday of their lives. Just like the delinquent selling drugs on the corner its the same self fulfillment they each get which make their rebellious nature. We all have rebellious tendencies its in our human nature. world the good person all the time seems somewhat weak and stagnant. The juvenile delinquent feels he has to prove something to his peers but also his family. People in society always want to feel accepted no event what social group they come to find. The rebellious adaptation is an important setting of stra in theory of social structure it completes the cycle of social structure.Merton was an established thinker and a great sociologist. His development of strain theory and the adaptations associated with it do him a well known person of his time. Merton coined this theory so that he could help future thinkers like us understand where his ideals and passion steamed from particularly in crime and deviance. His strain theory led to other important theories such anomie and the self fulfilling prophecy. Crime and deviance especially in juvenile delinquents will always be prevalent in todays society. There will always be low income communities that breed out drug dealers for the streets. The persuasion of crime is a war that has affected many generations of juvenile delinquency. Juvenile delinquency is a privilege a teenaged boy gets before he sees the real institutions of punishment for crimes. The only way some delinquents learn about punishment and the laws of society is by breaking t hem. Unfortunately breaking the law has serious consequences and can affect a delinquents future in society. Until we learn how to really create better opportunities for low income communities with juvenile delinquent issues our society will be a mental home for many more to come. This issue can only be figure out by our presidency but they make too much currency off delinquents why would they want to give up their cash cow. If the government paid more attention to neighborhoods and social structure of living we would not have to deal with criminals ruining our society. Our society must learn the problems so that juvenile delinquency retreats and our children grow up to be the face of a prosperous and protected America.