I thought it would be fascinating to compare my findings about poverty in the United States to my research about structural strain deviance, as these topics are intricately intertwined. A typical example of structural strain theory would be that a cultural goal in the United States is to achieve financial stability and success. However, there is a gap between this goal and the means of all US citizens to meet this goal. Those who don’t have the means to financial success may revert to crime/deviance in order to make ends meet.
In researching this topic, I was looking to see how structural strain theory either explains or fails to explain why affluent individuals might partake in deviant activities, drug usage in particular. I also thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast drug usage rates amongst the different socio-economic classes to see if economic inequality has any effect on drug usage. I found an interesting article that compared alcohol and drug usage rates amongst different socioeconomic groups (see below).
Structural Strain Theory might offer an explanation for how inequality effects everybody in the US, not just the impoverished. When people turn to crime in order to make ends meet, this effects affluent individuals as well. Thievery, emergency room visits, and gang violence are just a few examples of deviant behavior that Structural Strain Theory suggests might be due to the gap in cultural goals and access to those goals.
Scholarly Articles:
The following article, "Neighborhood socioeconomic status and substance use by U.S. adults," found that there was a higher association with tobacco and drug use in disadvantaged neighborhoods than middle-class neighborhoods. This might be explained by structural strain theory. However, this study did not look at prescription drug abuse, which may be a less deviant form of addiction. Using a drug that was prescribe to you by a doctor is much more socially accepted than the use of illicit substances. It also found that there were no significant associations with between alcohol and neighborhood socioeconomic status.
The following is a link to "Another Look at Classic Strain Theory: Poverty Status, Perceived Blocked Opportunity, and Gang Membership as Predictors of Adolescent Violent Behavior," the findings of which support structural strain theory:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/j.1475-682X.2000.tb00895.x/asset/j.1475-682X.2000.tb00895.x.pdf?v=1&t=hupta92b&s=68870cf0bce3c86010dbc056b9bd5bce12a94010
DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-682X.2000.tb00895.x
DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-682X.2000.tb00895.x
Although these photos were not taken in the US, they accurately represent unequal wealth distribution and deviance (Sakamaki, 2007).
Watch this video:
The video, "Merton's Strain Theory" (2014), explains Structural Strain Theory in great detail.
Learn More!
Check out the National Poverty Center's stance on Drug Abuse and Welfare users (Jayakody, Pennsylvania State University, Danziger, University of Michigan, Seefeldt, University of Michigan, & Pollack, University of Chicago, 2004):
Check out this website that has an interesting article on the connection between crime and poverty (Ward, 2013):
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