Social Movement Theory: Structural Strain Theory

This article focuses on structural-strain theory. It provides an analysis of the history, applications, and strengths and weaknesses of the theory. An overview of the origins and main principles of structural-strain theory is included as well as a discussion of the application of structural-strain theory as applied to social movement formation. The main criticisms of structural-strain theory are also explored.

Keywords Anomie; Conformity; Durkheim, Emile; Individual Strain; Innovation; Reaction Formation; Rebellion; Social Movements; Social Movement Theory; Sociology; Strain; Structural-Strain Theory

Social Movement Theory: Structural Strain Theory

Overview

The following is an analysis of structural-strain theory. Structural-strain theory argues that structures in society may promote deviance and crime. Sociologists and criminologists use structural-strain theory to analyze and predict deviant behavior. Understanding the history, applications, and strengths and weaknesses of structural-strain theory is vital background for all those interested in the sociology of deviant social movements and subcultures such as gangs. This article explains structural-strain theory in three parts:

• An overview of the main principles, history, and contributors to structural-strain theory.

• A description of how structural-strain theory is applied to analyze and understand why deviant social movements form.

• A discussion of the main criticisms of structural-strain theory.

The Main Principles of Structural-Strain Theory

Structural-strain theory refers to the idea that social structures put pressure on individuals to engage in deviant and criminal behavior. Structural-strain theory is part of a larger body of ideas called strain theories. Structural-strain theory, and all strain theories in general, is a structural-functional explanation of deviance and criminality (Featherstone & Deflem, 2003). The concept of strain refers to the pressure on lower economic classes to engage in any means necessary to achieve society's goals of monetary success. Sociologists use individual and group expectations, and a combination of income, education, and occupation, to measure strain.

There are two main types of strain in society that may promote deviance and crime: structural strain and individual strain.

• Structural strain refers to the cycle of inadequate regulation at the societal level that negatively impacts how an individual perceives his or her needs, means, and opportunities.

• Individual strain refers to the problems individuals experience as they work to meet needs and satisfy desires (O'Connor, 2007).

The History of Structural-Strain Theory

Structural-strain theory, developed by Robert Merton in the 1930s, was based on Emile Durkheim's theory of anomie. Anomie refers to idea that the problems in society, such as crime and deviance, result from social deregulation. Building on Emile Durkheim's ideas about anomie, Robert Merton, Albert Cohen, Richard Cloward, Lloyd Ohlin, and Robert Agnew each developed and contributed to structural-strain theory. Merton, Cohen, Cloward, Ohlin, and Agnew's strain theories assert that the frustration and stress caused by goal blockage increases the likelihood of deviance, criminality, and delinquency (Agnew, 1987).

The field of sociology quickly embraced structural-strain theory as a structural explanation for deviant behavior. Strain came to be understood as the social-psychological mechanism that caused deviant behavior from the effects of anomie. Structural-strain theory was the dominant explanation for deviance from the 1930s through the 1960s. But, starting in the 1970s, scholars began to question the empirical support and evidence for structural-strain theory. This skepticism within the field of sociology towards the structural-strain theory lasted into the 1970s and 1980s, but the theory experienced a rekindling of interest in the 1990s (Featherstone & Deflem, 2003).

Structural-strain theory belongs to the larger body of interdisciplinary work called social movement theory which began in the late nineteenth century. Social movement theory refers to the study of social mobilization including its social, cultural, and political manifestations and consequences. Social movement scholarship is often motivated by a desire for social change and integrates scholarship and activism. In the case of structural-strain theory, social movement theorists study strain to understand how and why deviance and criminality occurs. The interdisciplinary history of social movement theory includes six main areas of study:

• Structural-strain theory,

• Relative deprivation theory,

• Resource mobilization theory,

• Mass society theory,

• Value-added theory,

• New social movement theory.

Social movement theory proposes that social movements are, in many instances, created through the use and manipulation of frames. Social movements, including deviant social movements (such as gangs), influence and control their members through tactics such as mobilizing fear, engaging in frame appropriation, social constructionism, and counterframing (Snow & Benford,1992).

The Main Contributors to Structural-Strain Theory

There have been five main contributors to structural-strain theory. Building on Emile Durkheim's ideas about anomie, Robert Merton, Albert Cohen, Richard Cloward, Lloyd Ohlin, and Robert Agnew developed and evolved versions of structural-strain theory used today by sociologists, psychologists, and criminologists.

Emile Durkheim

Emile Durkheim (1858–1917), a protégé of Auguste Comte, was a French sociologist concerned with the problem of the individual and society as well as issues of solidarity and social cohesion. Durkheim's theory of anomie, introduced in Suicide (1897), became the foundation for structural-strain theory. Anomie refers to the idea that problems in society, such as crime and deviance, result from social deregulation. According to Durkheim, people's social roles or functions hold society together. He developed two important theories:

• Organic solidarity, which relates the bonds of a population of people with their employment, labor, and social roles, and;

• Mechanical solidarity, the bonding of a small group of people around similar interests, values, and beliefs.

Organic and mechanical solidarity promote social cohesion and collective conscience. Durkheim's theories of cultural differentiation and structural differentiation influenced the field of sociology by explaining how cultural and social structures could foster social cohesion and divisiveness.

• Cultural differentiation refers to the idea that the degree of consensus over cognitive orientations and cultural codes among the members of a population is related to their interpersonal interaction, level of emotional arousal, and rate of ritual performance.

• Structural differentiation, a term borrowed from Spencer, refers to the idea that the degree of differentiation among a population is related to the level of competition among these actors, the rate of growth in this population, the extent of ecological concentration of this population, and the rate of population mobility.

Durkheim, over the course of his life, moved from a macro focus on structural processes to a micro focus on social, psychological, and interpersonal processes such as co-presence, ritual, interaction, and emotional arousal. To learn how individuals related to society, he studied the social structure, societal norms, laws, community, groups, and societal roles in French society. In his research, Durkehim looked for the causes and functions of social phenomena. Durkheim may be most famous for his observations of suicide rates among certain social groups, which underscores his interest in the power of social cohesion (Turner, 1990).

Robert Merton

Robert Merton (1910–2003) made significant contributions to the sociology of deviance. Merton's work on social structure and anomie is considered to be a classic in sociology. In addition, Merton's work is often used in the field of criminology. Merton argued that the cultural system in the United States encouraged everyone to pursue financial success over all other goals. Merton's version of strain theory, which posits that social structures may encourage actors to commit criminal acts, preserves the theoretical link between culture and social structure. Merton was heavily influenced by the work of Pitirim Sorokin, a Russian sociologist who used quantitative methods to study the variables of social change (Rosenfeld, 1989).

Merton developed two theoretical elements in his social-structure-and-anomie paradigm: a strain theory and an anomie theory. Building on Durkheim's concept of anomie, Merton considered the anomie concept to explain deviation from socially prescribed patterns of conduct. Merton's theory of anomie refers to the “deinstitutionalization of social norms that occurs when there is a disjunction between cultural goals and institutional means” (Featherstone & Deflem, 2003, p. 472). In the field of sociology, anomie generally refers to an imbalance between cultural goals and the legitimate means of achieving those goals. Merton argued that the lower classes experienced the greatest pressures toward deviant behavior. For example, individuals who are blocked from attaining wealth, a recognized and shared goal of our society, may engage in illegal activity to gain money. In this scenario, Merton asserts that it is the social structure exerting pressure on the individual to engage in deviant and criminal behavior.

Merton's strain theory of deviant behavior argues that “people are more likely to pursue illegitimate means of attaining culturally prescribed goals when they are blocked from the institutionalized means” of reaching these goals (Featherstone & Deflem, 2003, p. 472). For example, people without the means or cultural knowledge to enter higher education and respected professions are more likely to engage in deviant behavior than those with access to legitimate means of achieving goals. Merton's strain theory includes macro and micro elements. Merton developed strain theory to explain individual social-psychological consequences of cultural and social-structural phenomena. According to Merton, “the social structure strains the cultural values, making action in accord with them readily possible for those occupying certain statuses within the society and difficult or impossible for others” (cited in Featherstone & Deflem, 2003, p. 479-80).

Merton's concept of strain includes five ways to analyze how individuals adjust to society's patterns of goals and means. These modes are referred to as modes of adaptation. Individual adaptations include mainstream and deviant options: conformity, retreatism, rebellion, ritualism, and innovation.

• Conformity refers to an individual's acceptance of both cultural goals and institutionalized means.

• Retreatism refers to an individual's rejection of the goals and the means of society.

• Rebellion refers to an individual's rejection and active substitution of both the goals and the means of achieving goals.

• Ritualism occurs when the means to legitimately pursue society's goals are followed despite the fact that the goals themselves are out of reach or abandoned.

• Innovation refers to an individual's acceptance of goals but rejection of established means for achieving goals (Featherstone & Deflem, 2003, p. 479).

Merton developed the idea of the reference group to show how “relative deprivation could mediate between social structure and interpersonal patterns of behavior.” A reference group develops when individuals compare themselves to others who are similar and evaluate “their own condition by reference to the general conditions of their peers and associates.” When individuals compare themselves to others, they develop a sense of relative deprivation (O'Connor, 2007).

Albert Cohen

Cohen (1918–) was a criminologist who studied subcultures like gangs. Cohen argued that class-based status frustrations facilitate and promote the formation of subcultures. In sociology and criminology, frustration refers to an aversive internal state due to goal blockage or most any irresolvable event. Cohen's theory of status frustration refers to the negative feelings created by lower status origins. Status frustration is associated with serious, repetitive criminal offenses. Cohen found that Merton's strain theory did not explain purposeless crime and deviant behavior such as vandalism or loitering. Subcultures produced malice, non-utilitarianism, and negativism. Cohen argued that strain was not structural so much as interpersonal. According to Cohen, the “social variable of peer influence” and the “psychological variable of reaction formation” determine who engage in criminal and deviant behavior. Reaction formation refers to the process that occurs when individuals from lower economic classes replace social norms and values with alternative values of a subculture. According to Cohen's strain theory, reaction formation is the link between frustration and criminal deviant behavior (O'Connor, 2007).

Richard Cloward & Lloyd Ohlin

Cloward (1926–2001) and Ohlin (1918–) developed the theory of differential opportunity systems (also known as different opportunity theory). The theory of differential opportunity systems argues that intervening variables explain the particular forms of criminal and deviant behavior. Cloward and Ohlin, building on the ideas of Emile Durkheim and Robert Merton, argue that the most important intervening variable is the degree of integration between criminal and conventional values in a community environment. The withdrawal of legitimacy variable stabilizes inner conflict and prepares the individual for recruitment and entry into a subculture. Subcultures, such as gangs, seek out individuals who exhibit evidence that they have given up a belief in and hope for fairness in the world (O'Connor, 2007).

Cloward and Ohlin's theory of delinquent gangs is considered to be a prime application and example of strain theory. The delinquent gang theory argues that delinquency develops when youth are unable to achieve socially valued goals through conventional, socially approved means. Cloward and Ohlin identify three categories of delinquent gangs: criminal; conflict; and retreatist.

• Criminal gangs refer to stable gangs with older criminals serving as role models for younger members.

• Conflict gangs refer to informal gangs focused on conflict as a means of developing their reputation.

• Retreatist gangs refer to gangs that retreat into sex, drug, and alcohol-based activities.

Cloward and Ohlin argue that a complex set of processes; beginning with strain, lead youths to pursue delinquent and criminal solutions to their problems.

According to Cloward and Ohlin, four conditions are necessary for the development of collective patterns of delinquency:

• The weakening of commitment and belief in codes of conduct;

• Joining with others to develop solutions to adjustment problems;

• Acquiring means for managing the guilt and fear from delinquent acts;

• Avoiding obstacles that preclude the possibility of group problem solving (Hoffman & Ireland, 1995).

Robert Agnew

Agnew (1953–) developed a general strain model in the 1990s based on a wide range of negative social relations such as negative life events, physical punishment, adverse school experiences, and negative parental relationships. He argued that variables, such as high self-esteem, high self-efficacy, temperament, conventional social supports, personal belief systems, delinquent peers, externalization of blame, and disposition to delinquency, influenced whether or not an individual would engage in delinquent behavior. Self-efficacy refers to the cognitive quality of attributing outcomes such as success or failure to personal attributes rather than external sources and the perception that one's course of action has a real effect on various outcomes. Self-esteem refers to judgments about one's self-worth. Agnew's strain theory of delinquency argued that strain may weaken an individual's attachment to conventional institutions, stress social bonds, and result in delinquent behavior. Agnew's work on strain theory reignited interest in the study of structural strain by criminologists and social psychologists (Hoffman & Miller, 1998)

Agnew argued that there are three major types of deviant-producing strain:

• Failure to achieve positively valued goals;

• Removal of positively valued stimuli;

• Exposure to negative stimuli.

Agnew found that adolescents were the most sensitive to the variables and conditions of deviant producing strain. He found that an individual's exposure to and experience of strain shaped the individual's personality. Strain, according to Agnew, leads individuals to feel anger, resentment, rage, dissatisfaction, disappointment, and unhappiness (O'Connor, 2007).

Applications

Sociologists use structural-strain theory to explain the causes of individual and group deviant behavior and criminality. Sociologists and criminologists use strain theory to explain the activities and origins of gangs and subcultures. Gangs and subcultures are types of deviant social movements which refer to a deliberate voluntary organization of individuals who act in concert to make or block changes. Social movements, both mainstream and deviant types, tend to be power-oriented groups rather than participation-oriented movements. This distinction means that the group actions of social movements are not necessarily of primary benefit to individual members but instead serve the groups' larger goals. Coordinated group actions are undertaken to make changes in the larger sociopolitical context. Social movements tend to be most successful in open, democratic societies in which social mobility and social change are accepted concepts. Norm-oriented social movements are more common than value-oriented social movements.

• Norm-oriented movements refer to groups that attempt changes within the system.

• Value-oriented movements refer to groups that attempt to change the basic goals of a system (Morrison 1971).

Structural-strain theory can be applied to predict and hypothesize about deviant group and individual behavior. For example, sociologists and criminologists use general strain theory (GST) to understand the relationship between gender and crime. Sociological research demonstrates that the gender gap in crime can be explained by gender differences in types of strain and reactions to strain. Higher rates of male crime are linked to the failure to achieve positively valued goals, the loss of positively valued stimuli, and the presentation of negative stimuli (Broidy & Agnew, 1997). Classic strain theory with its focus on poverty status, perceived blocked opportunity, and gang membership, can be used as predictors of adolescent violent behavior (Vowell & May, 2000). Sociologists and criminologists analyze attachment variables, such as family attachment, school attachment, and grades, as well as outcome variable of delinquency, such as property offenses and violent offenses, to predict delinquent behavior:

• The family attachment variables assesses family relations based on the degree of emotional bonding that family members perceive toward one another.

• The school attachment variable assesses whether respondents feel upset, satisfied, bored, frustrated, unhappy, relaxed, accepted, worried, or popular when thinking about school.

• The grades variable collects self-reported data on a respondent's recent grade in the following school subjects: English, math, history or social studies, and science.

• The property offenses measures criminal behaviors, such as shoplifting, damaging or destroying property, theft of items over fifty dollars in value, theft of items under fifty dollars in value, breaking into a house or business to take money or property, lying about one's age to buy liquor or cigarettes, and motor vehicle theft, in the previous year.

• The variable of violent offenses includes self-reported information on incidences of beating up another person, participating in a gang fight, carrying a weapon such as a knife or a gun, attacking someone with the intent to kill or seriously hurt, and using a weapon to obtain money or property (Hoffman & Miller, 1998).

Issues

Structural-strain theory, while widely used in sociology and criminology, is criticized for its vague and evolving nature. In particular, Robert Merton's work on strain theory has been criticized for being unfinished and changing. Merton never clearly distinguished between the concepts of strain and anomie. Instead, Merton allowed these concepts, which sociologists agree are distinct concepts, to be used interchangeably. In addition, Merton's definition of anomie has changed over time. He has referred to anomie any kind of imbalance between cultural goals and institutionalized means and has also referred to anomie as a particular type of disjunction of social means and goals. Merton's strain has been celebrated as among the most significant of all major sociological theories and also criticized as being flawed. Merton's inconsistent use of related terms in his writings created confusion and mistrust. Ultimately, Merton's two distinct theories of anomie and strain remain inexorably connected in his social-structure-and-anomie paradigm (Featherstone & Deflem, 2003).

Terms & Concepts

Anomie: The idea that problems in society, such as crime and deviance, result from social deregulation.

Conformity: An individual's acceptance of both cultural goals and institutionalized means.

Durkheim, Emile: A French sociologist concerned with the problem of the individual and society as well as issues of solidarity and social cohesion.

Individual Strain: The problems individuals experience as they work to meet needs and satisfy desires.

Innovation: An individual's acceptance of social goals but rejection of the means to achieve those goals.

Reaction Formation: The process that occurs when individuals from lower economic classes replace social norms and values with alternative values of a subculture.

Rebellion: An individual's rejection of both the goals and the means of society.

Social Movements: Deliberate voluntary organization of individuals who act in concert to make or block changes.

Social Movement Theory: The study of social mobilization including its social, cultural, and political manifestations and consequences.

Sociology: The scientific study of human social behavior, human association, and the results of social activities.

Strain: The cycle of inadequate regulation at the societal level that negatively impacts how the individual perceives his or her needs, means, and opportunities.

Structural-Strain Theory: A theory which asserts that structures in society may promote deviance and crime.

Bibliography

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Broidy, L. & Agnew, R. (1997). Gender and crime: A general strain theory perspective. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, 34 , 275-306. Retrieved May 11, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9708051578&site=ehost-live

Botchkovar, E., Tittle, C., & Antonaccio, O. (2013). Strain, coping, and socioeconomic status: Coping histories and present choices. Journal Of Quantitative Criminology, 29, 217-250. Retrieved October 27, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=87498042

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Hoffman, H. & Miller, A. (1998). A latent variable analysis of general strain theory. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 14 , 83-110. Retrieved May 9, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=11303442&site=ehost-live

Hoffman, J. & Ireland, T. (1995). The legacy of anomie theory: Cloward and Ohlin's strain theory reexamined. Advances in Criminological Theory, 247-270. Retrieved May 9, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=11846856&site=ehost-live

Morrison, D. (1971). Some notes toward theory on relative deprivation, social movements, and social change. The American Behavioral Scientist, 14 , 675.

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O'Connor, T. (2007). Strain theories of crime. Megalinks in Criminal Justice. Retrieved May 9, 2008, from: http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/crim/crimtheory11.htm.

Rosenfeld, R. (1989). Robert Merton's contributions to the sociology of deviance. Sociological Inquiry, 59 , 453.

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Vowell, P. & May, D. (2000). Another look at classic strain theory: Poverty status, perceived blocked opportunity, and gang membership as predictors of adolescent violent behavior. Sociological Inquiry, 70 , 42-60. Retrieved May 9, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=2850828&site=ehost-live

Zavala, E., & Spohn, R. (2013). The role of vicarious and anticipated strain on the overlap of violent perpetration and victimization: A test of general strain theory. American Journal Of Criminal Justice, 38, 119-140. Retrieved October 27, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=85210652

Suggested Reading

Konty, M. (2005). Microanime: The cognitive foundations of the relationship between anomie and deviance. Criminology, 43 , 107-131. Retrieved May 9, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=16438267&site=ehost-live

Preparata, G. (2013). Industrious rebels and captains of deterrence: defiance interpreted through a Veblenian reformulation of strain theory. Crime, Law & Social Change, 60, 25-38. Retrieved October 27, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=89025135

Qi, D. (2005). Collective Resistance in post-Mao rural China: an examination of two social movement models. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Retrieved May 9, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=18614619&site=ehost-live

Smith, T. R., Langenbacher, M., Kudlac, C., & Fera, A. G. (2013). Deviant reactions to the college pressure cooker: A test of general strain theory on undergraduate students in the United States. International Journal Of Criminal Justice Sciences, 8, 88-104. Retrieved October 27, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=91095594

Steinberg, M. (1992). Recent social movement theory: Moving from the theoretical margins to Main Street. Sociological Forum, 7 , 551-556. Retrieved May 9, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=10797731&site=ehost-live.