Strain and Anomie Theories in This Text,

Strain and Anomie Theories

In this text, I highlight the causes of strain and anomie. Further, in addition to describing the crime types addressed by this theoretical approach, I will also explain how the upper and middle class crimes apply to these theories.

Anomie or strain theories according to Einstadter and Henry (2006) "locate the cause of crime in the organization of the whole society, that is in its social structure and culture." Thus the insistence here is on what pressures individuals to commit crime. One of the causes of strain identified by Siegel (2012) is the lack of coping mechanisms that can be regarded adequate. In this case, citizens may be unable to cope with the social structures pressuring them to commit crime. As Siegel (2012) further points out, the major premise when it comes to anomie theory is that people may be forced to seek alternatives of attaining the various societal goals they have adopted when they lack or do not have the means to attain such goals. One of the alternatives they may explore in this case in the opinion of the author is crime. Deviance and crime rates are hence more likely to be high in the absence of societal, group or even communal cohesion. Thus the adoption of either a deviant or conforming mode is largely dependent on several external and internal constraints a person or group faces. Such constraints could include but they are not in any way limited to self-control, beliefs or even peer associations. It is these causes that largely influence how an individual or group responds to strain.

A number of crimes can be explained using this theoretical approach. It is important to note that based on its very nature, strain brings about emotional states that can be regarded rather negative. Such emotional states include but they are not limited to depression and anger. It that regard, it is these states that largely determine the nature and type of crime. For instance, anger as an emotional state can trigger violence whereas depression can increase the likelihood of drug abuse. Thus to be more specific, the types of crimes explained by this theoretical approach could include battery and assault, substance abuse, molestation etc.