Subcultural theories of crime

Question 1

What is the key idea?

Answer 1

subcultures enable their members to gain status by illegitimate means

Question 2

What is Albert Cohen’s theory?

Answer 2

status frustration

Question 3

Why do working class boys suffer from status frustration?

Answer 3

teachers regard the boys as ‘thick’ and put them into lower streams so the boys feel a sense of worthlessness

Question 4

How does the subculture offer a solution?

Answer 4

provides them with an alternative status hierarchy in which they can respect from their peers through delinquent actions

Question 5

What is Cloward’s and Ohlin’s thoery?

Answer 5

different neighbourhood give rise to different types of deviant subcultures

Question 6

What is criminal subculture?

Answer 6

these arise in areas where there is a longstanding professional criminal network, they select suitable youths for an ‘apprenticeship’ in utilitarian crime and a future criminal career

Question 7

What is conflict subcultures?

Answer 7

these arise where the only criminal opportunities are within street gangs, violence provides a release for frustration and a source of status earned by winning territory from rival gangs

Question 8

What is retreatist subcultures?

Answer 8

made up of dropouts who have failed in both the legitimate and the illegitimate opportunity structures

Question 9

What are the strengths of this theory?

Answer 9

show how subcultures perform a function for their members by offering solutions to the problem of failing to achieve mainstream goals legitimately, Cloward and Ohlin show how different types of neighbourhood give rise to different illegitimate opportunities and different subcultures

Question 10

What are the limitations of this theory?

Answer 10

ignore crimes of the wealthy and over-predict the amount of working-class crime, assume everyone starts with mainstream goals and turns to a subculture when they fail to achieve them, actual subcultures are not as clear-cut as Cloward and Ohlin claim