What Causes Deviance And What Is The Definition Of Deviance

Edwin Sutherland’s theory of Differential Association theory is about an individual learning criminal behaviour through interaction with intimate groups. His theory includes four modalities, which are frequency, duration priority and intensity. Sutherland’s theory is seen

Gangs have been a growing issue across the United States for many decades now. Youth gang violence may have started around the ‘50s, but did not become a serious issue until the ‘80s and from there went through a downward spiral in some cities like downtown Los Angeles, which was where the notorious Bloods and Crips gangs both started. First, let’s simply define a gang as a group of people, mostly men ranging for ages 14-30, who claim territory and use it to make money for themselves and their neighborhood through illegal activities such as trafficking drugs and weapons. There are many reasons and components that are factored in when conducting research to hypothesize “why do people join gangs?” That is why it is necessary to compare and contrast all the social, biological, psychological, developmental, and substance abuse aspects and relate it to joining a gang. It is also important to touch base on the differences between males and females that join gangs, such as power differentials, social learning differences and social stratification differences.

And on the other hand how “Code of the Streets” shows links to the Differential Association and Social Learning theories of crime. The Differential Association (closely related to Social Disorganization theory), developed by Edwin Sutherland, and Social Learning theory, developed by Ronald Akers, both theories of crime are theories that try to explain, at a micro-level, why individuals rather than groups of individuals commit crime (Feldmeyer, Differential Association and Social Learning, 2015).

There are an abundance of reasons why some youth may choose to join a gang. The lacking of sense of guidance positively and

Deviance is defined as the fact or state of departing from usual or accepted standards, especially in social or sexual behavior. There are many different forms of deviance in today 's society. Something that is viewed as being deviant in one culture might be seen as normal in another. There are many different types and theories in which define deviance, however their are 3 broad categories, these 3 categories are positivist, relativist, and critical conceptions of deviance. These 3 categories are important in defining deviance because they break down deviance as a whole and better help understand the different acts in which we label as being deviant. Deviance as a whole is important to study especially in today 's society with their

Deviance is explained by this theory because criminal behavior is more prominent in rundown areas with citizens who have lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Two sub-theories such as differential association theory and strain theory explain more in depth why people join violent gangs or are subjected to be dangerous consumers. Differential association theory puts a focus on the idea that people learn criminal behavior from the people they associate with. For example, the gang members who shot the woman’s son learn to do that from the previous gang members of whom they associated with. Strain theory is when an individual undertakes deviant acts because there is a discrepancy between the larger society and the means available for that individual to achieve a goal in the larger society. An example is the people in New Orleans that the cops arrested who had drugs and were trying to sell them to innovate a quicker way to make

Sutherland, both a sociologist and professor, developed Differential Association theory in 1939. Sutherland made a realization that crime happens in all social standings, not just the lower class. According to Sutherland, criminal activity is not inherent but learned. For example, children are not born to be racist but learn racism either through a family member or a close group of friends or acquaintances. Although Differential Association theory is a learned behavior, one needs to mentor someone on how to engage in deviant behavior and also how to have the right motivation and attitude to commit illegal corruption. What is the person undertaking the activity going to get out of the deviant behavior money, approval from friends or a better job? Criminals know that committing a crime is wrong, but they somehow have to rationalize to themselves that its alright because of the guilt they feel. Differential Association theory also states that people committing these crimes are doing it because it's more promising to violate the law than not too. Likewise, just because people commit deviant acts doesn’t mean they will continue to engage in those acts later in life according to

2014). A reason for gang relations for youth is that they may one day follow in the footsteps of their parents and siblings who are involved in gang relations in the neighborhood, because they may be perceived as role models (Young et al. 2014). Parents and siblings teach the youth ways to survive and to overcome low socio-economic status when there is no other means to survive (Young et al. 2014). Youth are taught to believe that joining of the gang will create a sense of protection and a higher status for the family name (Young et al. 2014). As this research suggests, parental influences are a significant factor in youth gang relation because it can encourage the youth to get involved in gang membership, to follow in the footsteps of their parents and siblings to feel interconnected with their family and society (Vuk 2017; Young et al. 2014).

Gangs continue to be an issue throughout the United States especially street gangs. These gangs are meticulous and organized on how they do things, but also how they target youth. There are many suggestions and studies that show the differences in youth who are involved in gangs versus those who are not. It is stated that youth who come from broken or dysfunctional families, youth tend to fall into gangs. In addition, some of the youth gang affiliated families are more likely to also engage in deviant behavior( Maxson, 1998). It is evident that it some youth stay in the cycle of deviant behavior because it is a learned behavior. Comparisons made between gang youth and non gang youth show that non gang youth have a strong support system and the usual nuclear family. In addition, they have people guiding them, whereas youth involved in gangs unfortunately are disciplined or guided through the criminal justice system(Maxson, 1998). These findings are interesting because it introduces readers on many of the reason youth fall into gangs.

The study at hand aimed to investigate the aspects that lead individuals to join a gang, the reasons as to why they decided to part ways with it, and the consequences that resulted from their affiliation. Through the analysis of interviews and observations, several themes were noticeable such as the initiation to the gang, desistance, consequences, and services offered to help reintegrate into society. Former gang members expressed and constantly mentioned their childhood having a major part in the decisions they made which ultimately lead to them being “jumped “into a gang. Some of the reasons this occurred so frequently among so many individuals was partly due to constant profiling, problematic relationships with many of them being at home, or the social environment they found themselves being surrounded by.

Deviance can be defined as an absence of conformity to the social norm. Not all deviant behavior is necessarily illegal or harmful to individuals, these behaviors can range from standing in another’s personal space to murdering another individual. In some cases, it can be looked upon as a positive change or a unique and favorable act. Although, considered deviant because it is not the social norm, it still can have a very positive social aspect or lead to social change. Culture and the societies within these cultures have a significant impact on what is considered deviant and what is acceptable or even lawful behavior. The degree of deviance is measured by society’s reaction towards the action and the lawful sanctions that may take

This paper takes a closer look at the social learning’s of society’s subculture that displays delinquent behavior. Using differential association I explain the learned behavior through the social environment such as role models, peer influence, and poverty stricken families. Delinquency is not biologically nor psychologically but is learned just as a person learns to obey the law. The study design is to help further the notion that criminal behavior is learned and not inherited due to genetic structure.

The limitation of the differential association theory lay in the question: if deviant behaviour is learned and is indeed "contagious", then why do so many in high crime areas, including criminals own siblings not become criminals? . Sociological conceptions, which regard an individual as a hapless victim of pernicious influences, are limited in providing a critical explanation of deviance, as they ignore the role of personal choice .

The term youth gangs refers to a group of three or more members, who are between the age of 12 and 24; they share an identity through the use of names or symbols; they see themselves as gang and are recognized by others as a gang; there is some amount of permanence and degree of organization; and the group is involved in an elevated amount of criminal activity (National Gang Center Staff, n.d.). Risk factors for gang involvement are based on factors such as individual, family, school, community. School risk factors include poor school performance, poor connectedness to schools, low degree of commitment to and involvement in school, and weak attachment to teachers (Howell, 2010). Community risk factors includes such things as greater level of criminal activity, neighborhood youth are involved in illegal behaviors, widespread access to and the use of firearms and drugs, and low level of neighborhood attachment (Howell, 2010). Additional factors that lead to gang involvement include learning disabilities and emotional disorders, school failure and truancy, no positive involvement outside of school, friends and peers are delinquent, low income, and early involvement in petty crimes and behavioral disorders in grade school (Hernandez, 2015). Reasons given for joining a gang as reported by youths includes for protection, for fun, for respect, for money, family members are part of the gang (and because a friend was in the gang (Howell, 2010).

The Differential Association Theory, established by Edwin Sutherland in 1947, explicit the deviance of an individual's behavior and how it is learned through interaction with others or associations. There are several components that play a role in this theory that determines the main causes of delinquency. One of the components of this theory is, a person do not inherently become a criminal, it is a learned behavior. A person cannot decide one day he wants to commit a crime if he is not influence or challenge by others. When someone engages in criminal acts, they are most likely influence in some way that motivates them to commit the crime.