Assignment task: The author identifies the critical social factors that are believed to cause or impact delinquency, which include the following:
- Interpersonal interactions - social relationships play an important role in shaping behavioral choices
- Community conditions - crime and delinquency are highest in economically blighted communities
- Exposure to violence - children in lower socio-economic neighborhoods are constantly exposed to anti-social behaviors
- Social change - changes within neighborhoods, politics, the family, and the economy have been found to increase delinquency rates
- Lower economic status - those with fewer resources have greater incentive to commit crimes
- Racial disparity - poverty rates among minority groups are higher than those of whites
The author further identifies the social structure theories, which encompass the social factors that create delinquency, such as gangs, while attempting to explain each, which include the following:
- Social disorganization theory
- Strain theory
- Cultural deviance theory
In your discussion, use the theories (social disorganization, strain and cultural deviance) residing within the social structure theories to answer the follow questions:
1. Provide a different example (real life) for each of the three theories within social structure, social disorganization, strain theory and cultural deviance.
2. How do your examples illustrate delinquency?
3. Which factors possibly influenced the delinquency? Could this have been prevented, if the factors did not exist?
4. In your opinion, which of the three theories in social structure theory has the most validity? Why? (Use your examples to help explain your position.)
5. Which two social factors are closely associated with each of these theories? Explain why.