The strain theory of crime

The strain theory essentially places the cause of crimes on the strain that societal pressures place on individuals. People may turn to deviant behavior in order to achieve goals that are the norm for general society. For instance, many drug dealers sell drugs in order to gain money, a common social value. In this sense, those who sell drugs are rebelling against one social norm in order to achieve another^[1]. Criminologist Albert Cohen observed juvenile offenders and noted that lower class children lacked the economic and social support to be on the same level as the middle class children at school. Because of this lack of support, Cohen believed that these children were more susceptible to failure and often were unable to reach middle class expectations. This inability to succeed legally places a societal strain on these people and because of this, they turn to crime. ^[2]