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Social Structure Theories

            
            
             Social disorganization theory is the inability of a community structure to realize the common values of its residents and maintain social control. Social disorganization theory suggests those macro social forces, such as migration and segregation, interact with community level factors, such as concentrated poverty and family disruption, to impede social disorganization. It was developed by Clifford R. Shaw and Henry D. Mc Kay during the first half of the twentieth century. Both were farm boys that came to Chicago for higher education. The two men extended the social disorganization theory by focusing on the social characteristics of the community as a cause of delinquency. They view juvenile delinquency as a result from a breakdown of social control among the traditional primary groups, such as families and neighborhoods, because of the social disorganization of the community. Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and immigration processes contributed to the disorganization of the community. Delinquent behavior became an alternative mode of socialization through which youths who were part of disorganization communities were attracted to deviant lifestyles. Shaw and Mc Kay refocused their analyzations from influence of social disorganization of the community to the importance of economics on high rates of delinquency. They found that the economic and occupational structures of the larger society were more influential in the rise of delinquent behavior than was the social life of the local community. They concluded that the reason members of lower class groups remained in the inner city was less a reflection of their newness of arrival and their lack of acculturation to American institutions than it was a function of their class position in society.
             Cultural deviance theories view delinquent and criminal behavior as an expression of conformity to cultural values and norms that are in opposition to those of the larger society.


Essays Related to Social Structure Theories

1. Differential Opportunity - Theories of Crime

... numerous contributions to the field of criminology. His theories have centered on understanding the deviant culture. Merton's numerous works include: Social Theory and Social Structure (New York: Free Press, 1949, rev. ed. 1968), On Social Structure and Science (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago, rev. ed. 1966), and possibly his most famous essay, Social Structure and Anomie (New York: Irvington, 1938). Social Structure and Anomie has been said to be the most ... the theory of reference groups; all of which have been employed in the field of criminology and criminal justice. In "Social Structur...

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2. Theories Of Child Development As They Pertain To Middle Childhood And Adolescence

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3. Theories and Methodoligies of Criminal Behavior

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4. International Political Theories

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5. Applying strain and anomie theories to crime and delinquency

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6. Criminological Theories - Empire

... known best for his theories and publications regarding social structures as well as becoming the first sociologist ever to win the National Medal of Science in 1994. When trying to understand the the way an organized crime empire is established it is most definitely going cross paths with the findings of this man and his work regarding social theory and social structure. For a group ... of men, women, or children to evolve into a group of deviant subcultures, it takes a special person and circumstance to deviate from, social norms and acceptability. According to Robert K. Merton (1938: 6...

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7. Theories of Sociology

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8. Grand Theories Of Comparative Politics Versus The Frameworks Of Analysis

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9. Human Development Theories

... , ego integrity verses despair. So from learning these he believed you could gain hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care and wisdom. Jean Piaget was a swiss scientist whose theories shaped the thinking of several generations of developmental psychologists. Piaget was only interested in " how does thinking develop"(Bee pg.35). A pivotal concept in Piaget's model and the hardest to ... in three psychosexual stages. Freud also believed that a parent's influence is crucial in helping the child through the stages of psychosexual development. Freud also argued that personality h...

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