Classic Vs. General Strain Theory

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Eastern Gateway Community College *

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203

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Sociology

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Feb 20, 2024

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1 General Vs. Classic Strain Theory Corina Kaplan Eastern Gateway Community College COR203: Criminology Prof. Corrin February 4 th , 2024

2 General Vs. Classic Strain Theory Strain theory begins with the concept of anomie in which Robert Merton found interest in. Anomie refers to the conditions where society applies pressure onto individuals to achieve culturally defined goals while simultaneously not providing the institutional means to achieve them, or the support of the rules in favor of said means. Merton’s strain theory is based off of the strain people feel to achieve these culturally derived goals which leads to often criminal activities to achieve these said goals (Ashley, 2023). In this writing both classic and general strain theory will be compared as well as their validity discussed. According to the textbook, classic strain theory focuses on the blockage of economic goals and relative deprivation. General strain theory focuses on a range of strains such as family, work, school, etcetera. General strain theory is almost an extension to classic strain theory as its goal is to explain the stressors and strains affecting those who are trying to complete success goals set through the classic strain theory. With the classic strain theory focusing on economic status as a big playing factor to success it can be seen that poorer individuals have more struggle achieving economic success through legitimate means. This can occur from things such as under preparedness for school, lack of funds for college, and lack of connections to obtain a job. Crime will be seen often as the coping mechanism for these poor individuals. General strain theory on the flip side defines the stressors felt by individuals of a group or on their own. If stress is felt by a large group of people it is known as an objective strain. These objective strains include things like low economic status which is generally disliked by a large group of people. Strains that affect specific individuals are called subjective strains. Subjective strains are events or conditions disliked by those experiencing them such as having negative feelings towards their low economic status when looking towards financial goals and success. These strains can lead to feelings of anger and frustration that put pressure on finding a corrective action which often leads to crime coping.

3 Classic strain theory says that not all strains lead to criminal coping and that it depends on the individual's abilities who is feeling the strain if they resort to crime or not. General strain theory says that certain strains cause criminal actions more than others depending on the intensity of the strain; however, it does also state that some people are more likely to cope with crime over others based on things like poor coping skills and resources (Piquero, 2016). Both classic and general strain theory focus on explaining how economic status and specific stressors can cause a group of people or specific individuals to lead to crime coping as a way of dealing with strains they feel. The main difference in the two types of strain theories is what they focus on. Classic strain theory focuses on economic blockages and relative deprivation whereas general strain theory focuses on a range of strains such as family, work, school, and more (Piquero, 2016). Both strain theories present valid reasonings as to why people from all economic statuses may feel stressors, as well as, how individual stressors/strains affect both large groups of people and specific individuals.

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4 References Ashley, Dr. S. (2023, March 1). 8.3 strain theory . Introduction to Criminology. https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/introcrim/chapter/8-3-strain-theory/ Piquero, A. R. (2016). The handbook of criminological theory . Wiley Blackwell.

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