Daryl Atkins was born in a small town called Hampton, Virginia. He was the oldest of many siblings and they all seemed to look up to their big brother. Unfortunately, by the time Daryl was seven years old his parents got a divorce. This paid a toll on the family financially. When Daryl’s father left, his mother picked up a second job to be the breadwinner of her large family. Daryl had many significant issues academically. He flunked out of the third grade twice. He then made his way through the rest of elementary school and middle school barley scraping by. His grades consisted mostly of D’s and F’s, and the occasional C. By the time he reached high school, a teacher noticed his extreme struggles with the easiest assignments. …show more content…
He was exposed to pro-criminal definitions through out his life from his peers. He looked up to William Jones, who would take him to frequently rob stores without getting caught. This reinforced his criminal behavior and encouraged him to keep pursuing that life style. Another theory that applies to Atkins is the Strain Theory. His family, as mentioned many times before, was poverty stricken. He robed in order to obtain money for food, clothes, and other wants and needs. Also, his mental retardation made it difficult to verbalize what he wanted or needed. So that must’ve put on the most strain of all. Atkins definitely had a lack of self-control. He sloppily did as Jones directed, without question. Also, in regards to him never learning self-control, this could be due to his mother. She wasn’t around to enforce curfews, monitor his behavior, or tell him no. All of these are factors leading to a person without self-control. Social Bond theory also applies. He has a lack of attachment to anyone, besides his dysfunctional relationship to Jones. He was involved with football and school, but of course he quit both. And as got commitment and belief, he literally did not have the mentally capacity to partake in