Summary Of Robert Agnew's General Strain Theory

The social deviance anomie theory also known as strain theory is defined as means to an end. This means that if the goals that society holds for people are unreachable individuals may turn to illegitimate ways of getting there. Throughout this paper I will provide details as to why we should use anomie theory when defining deviance among brothel workers presented in Brothel Mustang Ranch and its Women written by Alexa Albert.

Robert Agnew’s General Strain theory expands prior theorist’s concepts which emphasizes that the obstruction of an individual goal or the inability of an individual to achieve conventional goals through appropriate means causes unlawful innovations, such as crime (Brezina, 2010). More so, Agnew’s expanded the concept of stressors in an effort to make stressors classless. In addition, Agnew states that the strains that generate strong pressure which tend to lead to criminal behaviors are chronic strains, strains that are rationalized to unjust or severe, and strains that can be resolved by crime (Agnew, 2001). Lastly, Agnew believes that criminal response is most likely to occur when normal coping strategies are absent.

Exploring the role of negative emotions among murderers in a population of federal offenders: the General Strain Theory

In 1995, a very heinous, mysterious crime was committed the murder of two innocent boys by their mother. This crime was thought to be completely unexplainable. This mother convinced America that a black man had stole her car and kidnapped her children. Little did we know this suicidal woman would be capable of committing such a crime. There are many theories that you can apply to this case. However the theory that fits it most closely is the general strain theory.

Meaning: This is the idea that deviance is due to the pressure that the society puts on some people, therefore forcing them to deviate. It reminds of the old adage that “poverty breeds crime”. In support of structural strain theory of deviance, Robert Kline Merton borrowed Emile Durkheim’s concept of Anomie (i.e. normlessness) and applied it to deviance.

Strain theory is described as the cause of crime due to the social class or environment in which a person grows up in. In our society, people strive to obtain wealth, education, materialistic possessions and power. Due to the environment lower social class people are born into, they are unable to obtain these aspirations through legal means. Feelings of frustration lead to strain and can cause these people to resort to external and illegal means to obtain these resources or lead them to abusing drug substances in an effort to feel better.

In the 1980’s, Criminologist, Robert Agnew, presented his theory of general strain, in which he covers a range of negative behaviors, especially how adolescents deal with stresses of strain. General strain theory focuses on the source, such as anything that changes in the individual’s life that causes strain. His theory provides a different outlook on social control and social learning theory for two reasons: the type of social relationship that leads to delinquency and the motivation for the delinquency (Agnew, 1992). He states that certain strains and stresses increase the likelihood for crime such as economic deprivation, child abuse, and discrimination. These factors can cause an increase of crime through a range of negative emotions. For some people it can take a lot of willpower to take a corrective action and try to deter away from committing crime in a way that they can relieve these negative emotions. When people cannot cope with the stresses of the strain, they turn to crime as a coping mechanism. Agnew also states, that not all people that experience the stresses of strain will go forward to committing crime and live a deviant life.

Prison gangs, not much unlike street gangs; a social entity devised to bring a sense of belonging, a sense of brotherhood. Prison gangs are found all over the world, consisting mostly of males with the majority of prison gangs made up of Caucasians. Although, the Latino gang population is steadily increasing. To help us understand prison gangs, we take a look at Robert Agnew’s theory called General Strain theory, in which an individual commits a crime or violence based off of 3 main sources: 1), an individual is stopped from reaching a goal, 2), something an individual possesses or valued is removed or threatened, 3), or something negative or unwanted is imposed on an individual (Alvarez & Bachman, 2017). Using this theory, we will dive in to understanding what has helped the Aryan Brotherhood rise to become one of the most notorious prison gangs our world has ever seen.

Prostitution and illicit drug use are contentious topics, not only in North America but around the world. The issues of how to police, as well as whether or not to decriminalize prostitution and drug use are multifaceted and encompass sociological, economic, and health factors. Although there is a general understanding amongst the public concerning the definitions of prostitution and drug use, arriving at precise definitions of both is actually quite challenging, largely due to the varied manifestations of each. Additionally, determining whether or not prostitution and drug use are victimless crimes is challenging and necessitates a precise definition of "victimless." For the purposes of this paper, I invoke Meieer and Geis's definition of victimless as referring to whether or not harm is inflicted, either toward oneself or toward others (Meier and Geis 1997). This paper begins with an examination of the extent to which prostitution and drug use are in fact associated with sociological variables, and culminates with a discussion of whether they are victimless and should be decriminalized.

The two theories identified are Strain theory and General strain theory. Strain theories are indicated when certain strains or stressors are increased, there is a probability for a person to commit a crime. According to Robert Merton, strain theory is a form of adaptive problem-solving behavior that is committed in response to problems involving frustrating and undesirable social environments (Schmalleger, 2011). Strain results from an individual failure to achieve one’s goals, such as money, status/respect, autonomy, loss of a positive (death of a friend or love one), and loss of value possession. Strain can be thought of as pressure that individuals feel to reach socially determined goals (Agnew, 2015). A person who experience these strains become upset, which they may turn to crime in an effort to cope. By doing so, crime may be an escape or reduction for them to escape this feeling.

The adverse effects of prostitution and sex trafficking can be extremely negative and can actual hinder these individuals from getting the help they need. While speaking with Amanda she made me realize that although she loves her job and that this organization has a big positive impact there is always more that can be done. In relation of this interview to what I have learned in this course, I found similar sentiments about this idea that prostitution can be harmful to a variety of different people and aspects of life. Also, through Amanda’s story I was able to see that pimps and those who exploit women are being prosecuted but it does not come with ease and the need to have these females to testify is extremely beneficial to the prosecution of these individuals. This idea of the difficulty of prosecuting these pimps and traffickers is something we talked extensively about throughout this section of the course, and we also realized though how important it

Over the course of time crime rates have fluctuated heavily throughout the United States, raising concerns for the general public. With that in mind many Criminologists have come together attempting to explain why, as well as how crime occurs. Dr. Robert Agnew has lead the charge in this field in regards to his affiliation with something called: The Strain Theory. The word, “Strain” in this instance can be defined simply as, “anger or frustration that results from negative relationships or experiences” (Hackworth 3). Now when making the correlation between criminology and this particular theory one must consider all aspects of a criminal’s life. Agnew explains this ideal further in his article, “Building on the Foundation of General Strain

Women made vulnerable by poverty are most susceptible to the sex industry because they lack the resources, the education, and the economic alternatives to pursue other work possibilities. The lack of education diminishes women’s potential to gain paid employment, and desperately consent to prostitution as their survival strategy.

The integral research question for this study is what factors lead to successful exiting of street-level prostitution? The hypotheses are that completion of a drug treatment program, and the use of informal and formal support will increase the likelihood of success. Completion of a drug treatment program will entail finishing the recommended number of days and attending all sessions of a program whose primary goal is drug rehabilitation. Informal support will be determined by whether the woman interviewed has a close family or friend they can talk to about the process, and formal support will be determined by the use of any formal group meeting that’s goal is to assist the women grow and change. Formal

A major concern with prostitution and sex trafficking is a negative trend that occurs with the health of women. One significant aspect is the deteriorating emotional well-being of former and current prostitutes. Both forced and voluntary prostitutes experience trauma that affects their mental health. An investigation done by U.S. Branch of Well-being and Human Administration's national symposium analyzes the impacts' prostitution has on women. The outcomes resulted in the pervasiveness of PTSD,