Anomie and Strain Theory

About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about early sociological theories of crime, especially those from the Functionalist tradition, focusing in particular on: (i) Émile Durkheim’s understanding of crime as serving an integrative function; (ii) his concept of anomie as the conditions under which crime occurs; (iii) Robert Merton’s strain theory – that crime results from the strain people feel due to their inability to achieve socially approved goals – and criticisms of this; (iv) Robert Agnew’s general strain theory and the underpinning assumption within strain approaches that crime results from inequality of opportunity.

About the lecturer

Dr Francesca Menichelli is Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Surrey. Her research focuses on crime prevention, policing and social control, and her teaching covers a broad range of criminological issues. She is author of Order and Conflict in Public Space (2016).