Strain Theory

The strain creates some pressure or incentive to engage in criminal coping the extent of strain determines if an individual will engage in criminal coping routine activities theory and social learning theory certain types of strain are associated with those who model crime and the exposure of an individual to others who model criminal coping criminal coping may be viewed as the only way to address perceived injustice and reduce perceived magnitude of that type of strain. ex. Anderson’s (1999) discussion of the life in a poor, inner city community (disrespectful treatment)
Violence reduces feeling of injustice and can lead to status enhancement
Measuring the pressure or incentive for criminal coping can be accomplished through the use of observational studies, surveys, and intensive interviews.
Classifying types of strain according to likelihood of leading toward crime seen as unjust high in magnitude associated with low social control create some pressure or incentive to engage in criminal coping
Predictions are made on broad types of strain major types of strain people face reduces accuracy ex. unemployment relation to crime
Types of strain unrelated or weakly related to crime strain seen as unjust allows one to see that a wide range of strains will be unrelated to crime reasonable accident, chance, ignorance, etc. strain seen as high in magnitude allows one to see that low magnitude strains are weakly correlated to crime strains that threaten peripheral or core goals
3rd and 4th conditions allows one to predict that the strain types that dominate strain theory research are weakly correlated to crime inability to achieve certain forms of success are high in magnitude it is not viewed as unjust; a level of social control is present criminal coping is not enforced crime is unrelated to education/occupational attainment supervision/discipline by parents, schools, criminal Justice System not related to crime
burden