Robert Agnew Strain Theory
The Strain Theory
There are many theories to crime causations one in particular caught my attention, one that I believe is the most accurate. The strain theory was developed in 1938 by Robert Merton and then updated by Robert Agnew in 1985. Agnew’s general strain theory is based on the general idea that “when people get treated badly the might get upset and engage in crime”. The general strain theory identifies the ways of measuring strain, the different types of strain, and the link between strain and crime.
Agnew came up with two different ways to measure strain in an individual’s life. The first way is the subjective approach, where the researcher directly asks the “individual whether they dislike how they are being treated”. The second …show more content…
The first is the failure to achieve positively valued goals, the second is the loss of positive stimuli, and the third is the presentation of negative stimuli. Agnew noted that the three positively valued goals members of society strive for are 1) money, it is a cause for strain when it is not available through legitimate means and delinquents desire to gain large amounts of money.2) status and respect, an individual strives to prove their masculinity by using criminal behavior.3) Last is autonomy, the power over oneself, this affects mainly adolescents and the lower class because of their position in society. The loss of positive stimuli can cause stress when an individual experiences a family death or a broken relationship with a friend or a romantic partner or it can be a result of the theft of a valued object. This could lead an individual to delinquency by the person trying to prevent the loss, retrieve what was lost, or to seek revenge on those who removed the positive stimuli. The presentation of negative stimuli can be through child abuse, neglect, neighborhood problems, and homelessness. The individuals who usually experience these negative events are adolescents with pain avoidance behaviors and juveniles with the inability to legally avoid noxious
There are many theories to crime causations one in particular caught my attention, one that I believe is the most accurate. The strain theory was developed in 1938 by Robert Merton and then updated by Robert Agnew in 1985. Agnew’s general strain theory is based on the general idea that “when people get treated badly the might get upset and engage in crime”. The general strain theory identifies the ways of measuring strain, the different types of strain, and the link between strain and crime.
Agnew came up with two different ways to measure strain in an individual’s life. The first way is the subjective approach, where the researcher directly asks the “individual whether they dislike how they are being treated”. The second …show more content…
The first is the failure to achieve positively valued goals, the second is the loss of positive stimuli, and the third is the presentation of negative stimuli. Agnew noted that the three positively valued goals members of society strive for are 1) money, it is a cause for strain when it is not available through legitimate means and delinquents desire to gain large amounts of money.2) status and respect, an individual strives to prove their masculinity by using criminal behavior.3) Last is autonomy, the power over oneself, this affects mainly adolescents and the lower class because of their position in society. The loss of positive stimuli can cause stress when an individual experiences a family death or a broken relationship with a friend or a romantic partner or it can be a result of the theft of a valued object. This could lead an individual to delinquency by the person trying to prevent the loss, retrieve what was lost, or to seek revenge on those who removed the positive stimuli. The presentation of negative stimuli can be through child abuse, neglect, neighborhood problems, and homelessness. The individuals who usually experience these negative events are adolescents with pain avoidance behaviors and juveniles with the inability to legally avoid noxious