1.3 Subcultural Strain Theories

• What are 2 criticisms of Cloward & Ohlin?

  -Ignore crimes of the wealthy

  -Not everyone has the same goals
• Retreatist subcultures

  -People fail in legitimate & illegitimate means of gaining status

  -Turn to drugs & alcohol as they feel they have no other option
• Conflict subcultures

  -Arise in areas of high population turnover which results in social disorganisation

  -Only opportunities in loosely organised gangs to gain status
• Criminal subcultures

  -Provide youths with an apprenticeship for a career in utilitarian crime

  -Only in neighbourhoods with professional adult criminals
• What are the 3 types of deviant subcultures according to Cloward & Ohlin?

  Criminal

  Conflict

  Retreatist
• How do they develop Merton's ideas?

  Into an explanation of why different social groups choose to adopt forms of deviance
• What did Cloward and Ohlin believe?


  -People are socialised to value 'success'

  -Those who have the means, do so legitimately or if they don't, they do it illegitimately
• What are 2 criticisms of Cohen?

  Makes the assumption that everyone is looking for the status

  Focuses on WC & non utilitarian crime
• How does anomie create status frustration? How does it offer the boys an alternative status hierarchy?

  -The boys face a problem of adjustment at their low status in mainstream society

  -They reject MC values & join a delinquent subculture

  -They can win status through their delinquent actions through their own illegitimate opportunity structure
• What did Cohen say about deviance in WC boys?


  They face anomie in the MC dominated school system and leaves them at the bottom of the status hierarchy
• Utilitarian Crimes

  Crimes related to money and material possessions
• What did Cohen criticise about Merton's viewpoint?


  1. Deviance is often a group response to strain, especially for young people (not just individuals)

  2. Violent crime & vandalism have no economic motive but are very common
• What do they think subcultures provide?

  An alternative opportunity structure for those who are denied the chance to achieve by legitimate means- mainly those in the working class
• How do subcultural Strain Theorists see deviance?

  As the product of a delinquent subculture with different values from those of mainstream society