Anomie theories and subcultural theories are all classified as sociological theories of crime. However, the viewpoints of the individuals that developed these theories vary. For example, Robert Merton’s theory of anomie (also known as the strain theory) tends to place responsibility for decisions to participate in deviant activities upon interactions with others in society and the expectations that society has of an individual.Conversely, Albert Cohen’s theory of delinquent subculture contends that the points made by Merton do not always apply, especially when examining the deviant activities of youth from lower-class neighborhoods that participate in gang activity. Cohen posits that social status plays a role in decisions to participate in deviant behavior. Both theorists view society as playing a role in deviant behavior, just from different perspectives.In your initial post evaluate both the theory of anomie (strain theory) and the theory of delinquent subculture from the perspective of how an individual is influenced by society towards either participating in deviance or leading a law-abiding life. When examining the theory of delinquent subculture keep in mind that many individuals that participate in gang activity during their teen years will continue deviant behavior as an adult. Compare and contrast both theories and defend the theory that you believe most accurately explains the role of society in decisions to participate in deviant behavior.Papers General Guidelines The following guidelines must be adhered to for the essays and research papers that are components of this course:• A 12-point Times New Roman font must be used in the paper.• Double-spacing must be used throughout the paper.• Page margins must be 1” on each side of the paper (top, bottom, left and right sides).• A cover and reference page must be included. The cover and reference pages must a paper on separate pages from the rest of the paper and do not count towards any minimum page length requirements.• All sources utilized to create the paper must be cited and included in the reference list. APA (6th edition) guidelines for citations and reference listings must be followed.• Unless otherwise specified, all papers must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document saved as either a .doc or .docx file. No other formats will be accepted.• Only scholarly resources should be used. Sites such as Wikipedia, blogs, or other resources where information has not been peer-reviewed must not be used. If you have questions regarding whether a resource is acceptable, please ask your instructor before using that resource.• Abstracts are only appropriate for papers that will be published. For this reason,Abstracts should not be included with course papers.• Direct quotes should be used sparingly, if at all. The intent of scholarly writing is to demonstrate the ability to comprehend, interpret, and analyze information. Direct quotes do not demonstrate these skills; therefore they should only be used when the true meaning of the original author cannot be appropriately expressed otherwise.
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