In general, a group of theories, called Strain Theory, contends that most people in society share the same goals of achieving wealth and success. But in every society there is division between lower class and their wealthier counterparts. Those people from lower class don’t have the same opportunities that those from upper class do. As a result, lower class gets frustrated because they are not able to achieve upper class’s goals. That feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining their goals, or in other words – strain, leads to crime.
Following essay looked at society’s role in Crime regarding different variations of Strain Theory: Anomie Theory, General Strain Theory, Institutional Anomie Theory and few Subculture Theories and tried to find an answer for questions on possibility to have a society free of crime or does the immigrations have an impact on crime itself. Strain Theory observed on how to become criminal and looked at how criminal behaviour is learned in social situations. Not only questions concerned within functionalism and positivism relation like usefulness of crime was important to Strain theorists but also they tried to kept criminal impulses in check.
The context in which Strain Theory emerged and developed can be divided into different types of Strain Theory: Anomie Theory, GST, Institutional Anomie Theory and Subculture Theories over three mains periods of time .The first period was a result of rise of sociology as an science and academic discipline which occurred from the middle of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth. Majority of sociologist presumed that there existed a consensus of values and norms across a whole society. The major role of the social scientist was to intervene in shaping the direction of social development by providing positive solutions to identified social problems. One of the methods adopted
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