cohen

• crime is a reaction to blocked opportunities resulting from structural inequalities, claimed that subcultural groups were responsible for most crimes
• status frustration :

  • cohen examined young boys from low income backgrounds
  • as a response to educational failure and inability to achieve success via legitimate means, males suffered from status frustration
  • males formed alternative means of achieving status in subcultural peer groups
• alternative status hierarchy:

  • new subcultures formed their own norms and values which opposed the norms and values of mainstream society
  • subcultures awarded high status to its members for delinquent acts
  • subcultural groups engaged in mostly non-utilitarian crimes e.g. graffiti
  • behaviours were a reaction against a society which blocked their opportunities
  • behaviours members engaged in was a way of seeking revenge against society
• subcultures valued delinquency, deviant behaviours and challenging authority
• cohen's theory on status frustration can be applied to the high crime rates amongst males who were likely to be underachieving in school
• cohens theory can be applied to crime prevention strategies for young males:

  • boxing clubs were a way of young males letting out their frustrations, as well as a way of allowing males to have status for masculine traits without turning to illegitimate means