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Agnew's Strain Theory In There Are No Children Here

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Agnew’s General Strain Theory in There Are No Children Here Introduction Throughout this semester, we have covered various criminological theories along with their strengths and limitations. These theoretical perspectives provide possible explanations to why individuals commit crimes. In addition to, these theories are indirectly woven within cultural objects such as song lyrics, movies, books, and television. For my cultural object, I chose to analyze a book titled; There Are No Children Here, that encompasses a variety of criminological theories. However, in this paper I will examine how Merton/Agnew’s strain theory and its assumptions are illustrated within the context and characters in this book. Specifically, I will focus on Lafeyette, …show more content…

Summary of There are No Children Here There are No Children Here is a biography written by Alex Kotlowitz that takes a look at the experiences of two brothers, …show more content…

In his strain theory, Agnew identifies several other sources of strain besides Merton’s disjunction between goals and means (Hemmens & Walsh, 2014). In this perspective, strain includes the negative emotions that arise from social relationships. According to Agnew, strain occurs when from the removal of positively valued stimuli such as the loss of a romantic partner, the presentation of negative stimuli such as negative school experiences and the prevention or a threat to prevent an individual from obtaining a positively valued goal (Hemmens & Walsh, 2014). In the case of Lafeyette, his strain came from all three sources. The removal of positively valued stimuli for him was losing Terrence to prison and his two friends to death (Kotlowitz, 1991). For Lafeyette, the presentation of negative stimuli would be having an overcrowded household, having to duck and cover when random shootings between gangs happen on a daily basis, and watching his father come in and out of the apartment drunk (Kotlowitz, 1991). Lastly, Lafeyette’s environment, Henry Horner, and financial strain would be the prevention keeping him from obtaining his dream. Not only is strain objective and subjective but it can also arise from anticipation. Despite everyone experiences multiple strains, the impact of the strain differs by its magnitude,

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A study was posted to the National Library of Medicine, that researched general strain theory and its persistence and desistance among young adult males. This study found three main strains that would cause someone to commit a crime. They were, “1) the failure to achieve positively valued goals, including the disjunction between expectations and actual outcomes and the perception of what would be a fair or just outcome and actual outcomes; 2) the removal (or threat of removal) of positively valued stimuli that the actor already possesses (e.g., the death of a parent or the loss of a girlfriend); and 3) presentation with noxious or negatively valued stimuli, such as abuse (Eitle, 2010).” It was also argued in this research study that the main strain had to deal with relationships that the person

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In 1985 Robert Agnew a sociologist come to an interest of studying the theory and finds a potential for the theory in explaining several causes of crime in society, but due to its limitation he developed and reformulated the theory to widen its dimension or scope. After revising the theory he come up into General strain theory of crime and builds its foundation in 1992. General strain theory argues that frustrations and anger leads someone to deviance and may result into committing a crime (Agnew, 1992). GST defines strains as negative life events and conditions which are commonly disliked by the people who experience it or negative experiences of a person in a given group (Agnew, 1992; 2001; 2006). Strain is often classified in two distinct types, the Objective Strain and the Subjective Strain.

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Albert Francis Charles Augustus Emmanuel Cohen presented the theory of gang constitution that used Merton’s strain theory as a basis for why individuals resort to such group behavior. There are five adaptions to strain and of the five Sanyika was proximately cognate to the adaptation of revolt, which is the most complex of the five adaptations. Strain is considered the primary source for the development of criminals. According to Cohen, delinquent youths begin to value destruction of property and skipping school, not because these behaviors lead to a payoff or success in the conventional world, but simply because they defy the conventional norms and laws as good, thereby psychologically and physically rejecting the cultural system that has been imposed on them without preparation and fair distribution of resources. (Tibbets, p. 116)

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Sutherland, H. E. (1947). Principles of Criminology. Philadelphia: Lippincott. Torrence K. (2016). Schools of Criminology.

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