Six Focal Concerns

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Six Focal Concerns

Walter B. Miller formulated six focal concerns in a theory attempting to explain the behavior of street corner group adolescent members in lower class communities. These focal concerns include trouble, toughness, smartness, excitement, fate, and autonomy. Trouble, the first focal concern can be taken to imply the adolescents’ involvement in activities such as drinking, picking fights and illegal gambling among others (Hagan, 13). In general, these activities may be civil wrongs, moral wrongs or even both. Staying out of trouble or getting into trouble is deemed a fundamental daily preoccupation. Regardless of their awareness of the implications involved (such as landing in jail); these adolescents engage in trouble since the see it as prestige.

The other focal concern by Miller is toughness. This focal concern can imply personal attributes such as athletic skills, fighting ability, and physical strength. This focal concern can be taken to represent the adolescents’ commitment to violating rules and laws as well as being a bother to other members of the community (Hagan, 25). This concern can used to establish the reason why street corner group adolescent members in lower class communities normally find themselves in trouble, the above focal point. These adolescents are explained to have machismo as well as the attribute of daring one another. Being accepted as a member of these groups involves performing wrongful acts to demonstrate their strength.

The third focal concern was established as smartness. With regard to their livelihood, these adolescents get into trouble a whole lot of times. Therefore, being smart is one key attribute they possess. Smartness is an attribute that one acquires overtime as they learn how things work in the streets. This focal concern can be taken to imply the ability of gaining something through conning or outsmarting someone. It allows these adolescents to think fast and formulate counteractive measures in crucial situations.

The fourth focal concern by Miller is excitement. For adolescents street corner groups, living in the lower class community is often characterized by an uninteresting lifestyle with little or nothing to do apart from work. As a way up enlivening this drab life, these adolescents will often engage in activities such as drinking, fighting, and gambling among others. With regard to Miller, for these adolescents, living a life on the edge is their way achieving fun and thrills. This focal concern can therefore explain the adolescents’ susceptibility to taking huge risks and engaging in dangerous activities (Walsh, 41).

Fate is the fifth focal concern by Miller in his attempt to explain the behavior of street corner group adolescent members in lower class communities. To the lower class, this can be considered a crucial concern. With regard to this focal concern, we can establish that Miller had the belief that the lives of adolescents in street corner groups are usually dependent on forces beyond their control. Whatever happens to them should be deemed lucky or fateful. Judging from their lifestyle, you should expect one to perish within the soonest possibility, but they manage to beat all odds and survive (Hagan, 31).

The sixth and final focal concern in Miller’s theory is Autonomy. This focal concern explains the adolescent’s rejection of authority, independence and survival without reliance on others. Through the autonomy focal concern, we can therefore establish why these adolescents normally resist a controlled environment with rules such as school. They do not revere authority but rather desire living in freedom where they are their own masters. In conclusion, these concerns can be taken to explain why these adolescents normally find themselves in contention with the rest of society and their likelihood of getting in trouble.

Works Cited

Hagan, Frank E. Introduction to Criminology: Theories, Methods, and Criminal Behavior. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2008. Print.

Walsh, Anthony. Criminology: The Essentials. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2012. Print.