From Delinquency to Success
From Delinquency to success
The sociological theory of delinquent subcultures belongs to Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin which is based on Robert Agnew’s general strain theory and social disorganization. Agnew’s theory explained that multiple sources of stress and strain affect a juvenile’s emotional traits and response, resulting in criminal or delinquent behavior. Cloward and Ohlin theorize that certain groups or subcultures in a society have values and attitudes that are conducive to crime and violence, and result in criminal or delinquent behavior. In a criminal subculture, the youth learns criminal behavior from established adult criminals who act as role models for him. Living in an area with an existing criminal subculture, a youth has fewer opportunities to achieve success, therefore resulting in access to criminal behavior. The norm for the area is criminally based, and provides easy income through petty crimes for an uneducated youth.
A child born to a single parent in a lower income area will face obstacles many middle and upper class children will not. A middle class family usually consists of a two parent unit, one or both parents working, but home in the afternoon or evenings with the family. The family unit is close, doing things together, providing support, and volunteering for school functions allowing them interaction in their children’s academics. It’s unlikely that either parent has a criminal record. With proper supervision, children would attend school and have curfews to abide by. They may hold a job while in school, and may not feel the need to seek out a source of acceptance from negatively influential youths, to find love and support they are lacking at home because they would be receiving it from their family. If the parents are divorced, the children could still remain in supportive loving homes, have a parent home in the evenings, involved in the children’s activities because the absent parent would work and have the ability to
The sociological theory of delinquent subcultures belongs to Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin which is based on Robert Agnew’s general strain theory and social disorganization. Agnew’s theory explained that multiple sources of stress and strain affect a juvenile’s emotional traits and response, resulting in criminal or delinquent behavior. Cloward and Ohlin theorize that certain groups or subcultures in a society have values and attitudes that are conducive to crime and violence, and result in criminal or delinquent behavior. In a criminal subculture, the youth learns criminal behavior from established adult criminals who act as role models for him. Living in an area with an existing criminal subculture, a youth has fewer opportunities to achieve success, therefore resulting in access to criminal behavior. The norm for the area is criminally based, and provides easy income through petty crimes for an uneducated youth.
A child born to a single parent in a lower income area will face obstacles many middle and upper class children will not. A middle class family usually consists of a two parent unit, one or both parents working, but home in the afternoon or evenings with the family. The family unit is close, doing things together, providing support, and volunteering for school functions allowing them interaction in their children’s academics. It’s unlikely that either parent has a criminal record. With proper supervision, children would attend school and have curfews to abide by. They may hold a job while in school, and may not feel the need to seek out a source of acceptance from negatively influential youths, to find love and support they are lacking at home because they would be receiving it from their family. If the parents are divorced, the children could still remain in supportive loving homes, have a parent home in the evenings, involved in the children’s activities because the absent parent would work and have the ability to
Bibliography: Siegel, L. J., and Welsh, B. C. (2009). Juvenile delinquency: Theory, practice and law (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. http://socialscience.stow.ac.uk/criminology_notes/delinquency_opportunity.htm http://www.enotes.com/topic/Subculture_theory http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/Subculture_theory http://misssrobinson.wordpress.com/tag/subculture-theory/