Subcultural and Strain Theories of Crime and Deviance
Subcultural and strain theories, rooted in functionalism, explain crime and deviance as a product of the gap between socially approved goals and the legitimate means available to reach them. Merton's strain theory argues American (and, by extension, similarly market-driven) society encourages everyone to pursue material success, but access to legitimate means (education, stable jobs) is unequally distributed, producing 'anomie', a strain between goals and means, to which Merton identifies five possible adaptations: conformity (pursuing goals through legitimate means), innovation (pursuing goals through illegitimate means, e.g. theft), ritualism (abandoning the goals but rigidly following the means), retreatism (rejecting both, e.g. some drug subcultures) and rebellion (rejecting both and substituting new goals and means, e.g. political radicalism). Cohen argues working-class boys who fail by mainstream, largely middle-class standards experience 'status frustration' and resolve it collectively by forming a delinquent subculture that inverts mainstream values, gaining status by breaking rules that they cannot gain by conventional success. Cloward and Ohlin extend Merton by arguing that access to illegitimate means is also unequally distributed, producing three distinct subcultures depending on local opportunity structures: criminal (organised, profit-focused, dependent on adult criminal networks), conflict (violent, status through territory and gang loyalty, arising where organised crime networks are absent) and retreatist (drug-focused, for those who fail even in illegitimate structures).
Before you start
No specific prerequisites - this is a good place to start.
Method
- Start from Merton's core structure: the strain is between culturally approved goals and unequally distributed legitimate means, and every later theory in this topic modifies or extends this basic structure rather than replacing it.
- Learn all five of Merton's adaptations precisely, with a concrete example for each, since exam questions often test whether a student can correctly match a described behaviour to the right adaptation (conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion).
- Explain Cohen's status frustration as a specifically subcultural, collective response, distinct from Merton's individual adaptations: working-class boys fail by school's largely middle-class 'measuring rod' and gain status collectively by inverting those very values (rewarding what mainstream culture punishes).
- Explain Cloward and Ohlin's key addition to Merton: that illegitimate opportunities, like legitimate ones, are unequally distributed, so which subculture a young person joins (criminal, conflict, retreatist) depends on what illegitimate opportunity structure is available locally, not just on individual choice.
- Distinguish the three Cloward and Ohlin subcultures precisely by their defining feature: criminal (organised profit crime requiring an existing adult criminal network), conflict (violent status-seeking where no such network exists), retreatist (drug use, for double failures who fail in both legitimate and illegitimate structures).
- If the item describes a specific group or behaviour, identify exactly which theorist's concept it illustrates (an adaptation, status frustration, or one of the three subcultures) before building the wider answer.
- For an evaluative answer, use standard criticisms precisely: these theories assume consensus on mainstream goals (which labelling theorists and interactionists question), focus heavily on working-class and male crime (missing white-collar and female crime), and rely on official statistics that may themselves be biased.
- For a 30-mark essay, plan a Merton paragraph, a subcultural theory paragraph (Cohen and/or Cloward and Ohlin), an evaluation paragraph using a rival perspective, and a conclusion answering the specific question set.
Worked example
Item A: In one deprived urban area, a group of teenage boys who had left school with no qualifications began to gain a reputation locally for vandalism and petty theft, activities that won them respect from friends even though they brought them no money or material reward. Applying material from Item A and your knowledge, analyse two ways strain and subcultural theories explain the behaviour described. (10 marks)
- Identify the key detail in the item: the boys' behaviour brings status among peers but no material reward, which rules out Merton's 'innovation' adaptation (illegitimate means used to pursue the material goal) as the best fit.
- Way 1: use Cohen's status frustration directly, the boys have failed by mainstream measures (leaving school with no qualifications) and resolve this collectively by forming a subculture that inverts mainstream values, so vandalism wins status precisely because it breaks the rules mainstream society values.
- Develop way 1: explain this matches the item's detail that the behaviour brings respect but no material reward, since status frustration is resolved through peer status, not profit.
- Way 2: use Cloward and Ohlin's conflict subculture as a second, more precise fit, if the area lacks an organised adult criminal network to provide illegitimate profit-making opportunities, young people who fail legitimately turn instead to a conflict subculture built around toughness, territory and reputation rather than money.
- Compare the two explanations briefly: Cohen's status frustration explains the motive (failure and need for status), while Cloward and Ohlin's opportunity structure explains why this particular form (vandalism/reputation rather than organised theft) was available locally.
- Check both ways are tied explicitly to the item's detail about status without material reward, and named using the correct theorist.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What does Merton mean by 'anomie' in his strain theory?Show answer
Answer: A strain or gap between culturally approved goals (such as material success) and the legitimate means available to achieve them, which is unequally distributed across society.
Q2Name Merton's five adaptations to strain and give one example of each.Show answer
Answer: Conformity (working hard through education and a job), innovation (theft to gain money), ritualism (staying in a low-paid job while giving up hope of real success), retreatism (dropping out into a drug subculture), and rebellion (rejecting mainstream goals and means and campaigning for a different system).
Q3What is Cohen's concept of 'status frustration' and how do working-class boys resolve it?Show answer
Answer: The frustration felt by working-class boys who fail to achieve status by mainstream, largely middle-class standards. They resolve it collectively by forming a delinquent subculture that inverts mainstream values, gaining status by breaking rules rather than following them.
Q4What key addition do Cloward and Ohlin make to Merton's original strain theory?Show answer
Answer: That access to illegitimate means, not just legitimate means, is also unequally distributed, so the type of deviant subculture a person joins depends on the local illegitimate opportunity structure available to them.
Q5Distinguish Cloward and Ohlin's criminal and conflict subcultures.Show answer
Answer: A criminal subculture is organised and profit-focused, relying on an established adult criminal network; a conflict subculture arises where no such network exists and instead centres on violence and status through territory and gang loyalty.
Q6Give one standard criticism of subcultural strain theories.Show answer
Answer: They assume most people share the same mainstream goal of material success, which interactionists and labelling theorists question, and they focus mainly on working-class, male, gang-based crime, largely ignoring female and white-collar crime.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a A Level Sociology exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Outline two of Merton's adaptations to strain.
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Item B: In one district a well-established network of adult criminals controlled local burglary and fencing of stolen goods, and teenagers who wanted to get involved in crime for profit could work their way into this existing network. In a nearby district with no such established network, young people instead formed loosely organised gangs focused on defending territory through violence. Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, analyse two ways Cloward and Ohlin's theory explains the different subcultures described. (10 marks)
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Item C: Official statistics show markedly higher recorded crime rates among young working-class men in deprived areas than among other social groups. Merton argued this reflects blocked access to legitimate means of achieving socially approved goals, while later theorists argued the specific form crime takes depends on what illegitimate opportunities are locally available. Applying material from Item C and your knowledge, evaluate strain and subcultural explanations of crime and deviance. (30 marks)
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