Examples Of Social Disorganization

Many families don’t have any source of income. Distributing drugs is the only source of income for those that made the wrong choices in life. Lack of parent support effect the younger

Using criminological terms and concepts, focus on a jurisdiction, neighborhood, or geographic locale with which you are familiar. Regarding a human behavior which you select to focus on in that geographical space, write two concise yet comprehensive paragraphs on how social disorganization theory can inform your understanding of behavior and place, and one weakness which would find your understanding somehow lacking, and why. Then write two equally compelling paragraphs on how routine activities theory would foster your understanding, and one weakness which might leave your understanding lacking, and why.

Social Darwinism is a theory that individuals, peoples, and groups are subject to darwinian laws of natural selection. Another way to describe social darwinism is survival of the fittest. The strongest and the smartest will survive. It is now largely discredited, it was advocated in the late 19th and early 20th century by Herbert Spencer and others. It was used to justify political conservation, imperialism, to discourage intervention and reform and racism. This theory was used to support the laissez faire capitalism and political conservatism.

During 1984 through 1994, 10 years into The Crack Epidemic, the homicide rate of African American males aged 14-17 doubled. Along with an increase of African American children in foster care, fetal death rates and weapon arrests. Roles lost in families and the community. Health and lifestyle of the African American communities depleting due to the powerful affects of crack cocaine. The African American community has been significantly affected by The Crack Epidemic in the areas of health and culture as a result of where the source of crack cocaine introduced itself in America, laws surrounding crack cocaine and the perception of the drug.

Social disorganization theory was established by Shaw and Mckay (1942) in their famous work “Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas”. The main argument of the social disorganization theory is that, the place where people live will influence the individual’s behavior, and this may lead them to crimes. More precisely, certain characteristics of the neighborhood/community will strengthen or weaken the informal social control within the community, and this has mediating effect on crimes.

The Center for Disease Control reports about 3.4 million children being abused or neglected in the United States in 2012 and 1 in 4 children will experience some form on abuse, maltreatment or household dysfunction while growing up. (Campbell, 2015).Past research has shown a relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and substance abuse as an adult. Risk factors in the form abuse and neglect as child may cause a higher likelihood of substance abuse as an adult. Font and Jack (2015) also says that poor socioeconomic circumstances are associated with poor health conditions. Someone who scores with multiple adverse childhood experiences may report social and economic problems as an adult, such as financial hardship, homelessness and not making it through high school or an undergrad program (Font and Jack, 2015).

In Leslie Reynolds’ “Misuse of Welfare in American Low Class Citizens,” she employs various logical methods to support her argument that welfare in the United States is being misused by our citizens and something must be done to prevent the welfare misuse. Reynolds relies on definition, facts, statistics, personal and public experience, and also tries to find different solutions for this heavily impacted issue. Reynolds believes something should be done to prevent the many low class recipients from abusing and misusing the welfare system. For example, Reynolds suggests the government could restart the welfare system, have stricter guidelines, and have more monitoring of the system itself to prevent our money being misled. Reynolds blends her

Substance abuse is known through most populations, particularly acknowledged in the lower economic class. Drug are becoming more popular in this day in time. Drugs are getting the attention of younger teenagers and adults. It is hard to determine if a person is using drugs or not. Substance abuse is a topic that has been spread in the society and is often look upon as the leftover of an inconsiderate acquisitiveness. As you can see on the news more parents are using heroin and other drugs such as cocaine to get a high and will pass out in front of their children. Therefore, heroin and synthetic opioids are driving a recent increase in cocaine-related abuse.

Drug abuse and substance use have been categorized as a major reason for increased crime and rebellion amongst citizenly. Women, children and unemployed middle aged individuals experience increased crime rate as they are considered less contributors to general economic decisions. These include the inaccessibility of social amenities, lack of security and likely a surge in desperation to engage in misconducts that attract forceful interventions from existing

Johnson’s experience made her realize that people treat individuals on welfare poorly and that living in poverty will sever friendships (Johnson, p. 50). Dixon’s experience reinforced her understanding of institutional racism and made her question the racial wealth divide (Dixon, p. 58). Johnson accepted the way she was treated saying that “people on welfare have two choices” (Johnson, p. 53) which are dressing down or learning to take insults, but Dixon wants to “rebuild our society so that everyone, regardless of race, has the means to escape…” (Dixon, p. 58). Johnson differs from Sheila because of their opposing views on welfare. Johnson had to “get over the idea that being on welfare exposed some inherent flaw in [her] character” and that welfare was for lazy people (Johnson, p. 52). Sheila, on the other hand, saw welfare as a relief for a horrible situation she was in by “hoping to get coverage for the birth” of her daughter and later to “spen[d] a year getting to know her daughter before again seeking work” (Hays, p. 60-61). Sheila also differs from Dixon because Dixon feels that the disaster she lived has not “abated today, as [she] learned from [her] own personal experience” (Dixon, p. 58). Dixon feels that the racism she felt in Katrina is still alive while Sheila has “was feeling somewhat optimistic” due to the training in computer and accounting skills that she had received from welfare.

Edin and Lein wanted to discover the surviving strategies of single mothers who are on welfare or work on a low-waged job. They argue “neither welfare nor low wage work gives single mothers enough income to meet their families’ expenses” (253). To find out the set of survival strategies of single mothers to make ends meet Edin and Lein interviewed 379 low income single mothers. They chose their interviewees from different cities, different aged group, and different ethnic background. Most mothers who are on welfare wanted to find a job and be out of the welfare but the primary problem that single mothers face was that “family economics”. With the minimum wage income it was impossible for the single mothers to bring the ends meet. Neither working nor being on welfare was enough to survive therefore mothers who are on welfare supported their budget by generating substantial supplementary income. Edin and Lein states that “welfare recipients generated extra income by working at side jobs, obtaining cash from network members, community groups and local charities”. They also get cash help from the family members, child’s fathers, and from a boyfriend. Because they were afraid to lose welfare benefits they did not tell anyone about the extra income they have. To survive they needed both the welfare benefits and the extra income. It was very difficult to establish a trust with the interviewees in the beginning because they were afraid if they talk about it they might lose the

Wilson gives an example of a mother in a “new poverty neighborhood” that was on welfare even though she wanted to be employed, and she says that, while she was working, she was making only $7 an hour. Since she couldn’t pay the babysitter or get medical insurance for her children, she applied for public aid, and she could not even find a job that her benefits.

The main assumption of Social Disorganization Theory is the ability to explain why crime committed by lower class communities is more prominent than neighborhoods from communities in better economic areas. This theory is the relationship of the destabilization of urban communities and neighborhoods through Shaw and McKay’s study (Quoted in Siegal, 2010) that used the analysis of Ernest Burgess’s Concentric Zones Model. This model generates ideas that the closer to “zone 2”, individuals in a community have more stress factors

Social Disorganization theory connects crime rates to neighborhood ecological characteristics. Based on the research and according to Osgood and Chambers, social disorganization theory specifies three important variables; residential instability, ethnic Heterogeneity, female-headed households. These three variables are considered to be the most criminogenic.

The Social Disorganization theory is an intriguing theory that can be seen in our society today. This theory states that “disorganized communities cause crime because informal social controls break down and criminal cultures emerge” (Cullen 6). The city of Chicago was the predominate focus upon the construction of this theory. The reasoning for this was because Chicago was the fastest growing population in the 19th century, a population starting at 5,000 in 1800 and growing to 2 million in 1900, nearly doubling every decade. At this point in time, the city was composed of citizens who did not speak a common language nor shared the same cultural values. Due to this social divide, these community members were unable to organize themselves in