Lecture 4 - Social Disorganization Theory Flashcards
Social Disorganization Theory (Shaw and McKay)
A theory developed to explain patterns of deviance and crime across social locations, such as neighborhoods.
* a macro-level theory that focuses on larger units of analysis, such as neighborhoods, schools, cit-
ies, and even states or countries.
* Some locations seem to be able to control crime and deviance, while others invite violence, drug use, prostitution, mental ill-
ness, and other forms of deviance
Background:
* The criminals and deviants were the “new immigrants.”Immigrants who brought their old traditions and who had not been appropriately socialized into the new world were seen as the causes of the social problems of the day.
The Chicago School
- Says crime is facilitated by destructive ecological conditions in urban “slums” rather than biological or psychological “inferiority”
- Observed that certain city areas shared common characteristics
Concentric Circle Model
5 Zones Within a City:
- Central Business District
- Transitional Zone
- Recent immigrant groups live here (factories, deteriorated housing, abandoned buildings)
- Working-Class Zone
- Single Family Tenants
- Residential Zone
- Single Family Homes
- Contain yards & garages
- Commuter Zone
- Suburbs
Shaw & McKay’s study of juvenile delinquency and urban areas
They plotted on maps the home addresses of:
* boys brought to court for
an alleged delinquent activity
* boys committed by the court to a correctional facility
* boys dealt with by the police probation officers with or without court appearance
Their maps clearly show
3 things:
- Delinquency did not appear to be distributed randomly across the neighborhoods of Chicago.
- Rates of delinquency appeared to cluster in certain neighborhoods and appeared highest close to the central business district (CBD).
- Delinquency tended to decline as one moved away from the CBD.
Their analysis clearly showed that the highest rates of delinquency were next to the central business district (CBD) - this zone was called the zone in transition.
* Here lived recent immigrant groups (poorest and least educated citizens). As soon as immigrant groups learned english, gained an education and better job, and could afford it, they would move out of the zone in transition
Social Factors chacterizing the zone in transition:
* Poverty
* Population turnover
* Ethnic heterogeneity
Shaw & McKay did not emphasize a direct link between poverty and delinquency.
Critiques of Social Disorganization Theory
- Individuals vs. Groups - It is a macro level theory and fails to acknowledge micro level factors (individual level factors) like education, family/friend bonds, genetic factors, etc
- Longitudinal Data is expensive/difficult to collect
- Measurement issues
Empirical Tests of Social Disorganization Theory
Shaw and McKay observed that high rates of delinquency are found in areas of high economic deprivation (e.g., percentage living in poverty, percentage unemployed), population turnover, and racial/ethnic heterogeneity.
* they thought that the effect of economic deprivation was mostly mediated by population turnover and racial/ethnic heterogeneity.
Economic Deprivation leads to racial/ethnic homogeneity & population turnover which leads to crime and deviance.
Global Perspectives on Social Disorganization Theory
There is reason to believe
that social disorganization is a general macro-level theory of crime that can be applied
to other countries and across nations that vary in levels of informal social control.
Broken Windows Theory
Broken Windows Theory:
* the authors argue that disorder leads to greater disorder and attracts
and promotes more serious forms of deviance if unaddressed.
* Why not break another
window? It is fun, and what’s the harm? Signs of disorder
lead to further disorder.
- Promptly fixing these signs of disorder (repairing windows, removing graffiti) helps prevent crime escalation
Types of Disorder
Social Disorder
Ex. Public drinking, rowdiness
Physical Disorder
Ex. litter, graffiti, broken windows
* Its relationship to crime has been a concern since 1800s
Collective Efficacy
Social cohesion among neighbors combined with their
willingness to intervene on the behalf of the common good.
* collective efficacy is an important mediating effect between structural factors associated with social disorganization and deviant behavior, particularly
violent behavior.
Parental Efficacy
Parents’ ability to control their children’s behavior through
parent–child attachment, rules, supervision, and also social support.
Collective Efficacy leads to greater parental efficacy, which leads to greater social competency and lower levels of problem behavior among children.
Examples of people in each zone
- Commuter Zone
Ex. Executive Managers - Residential Zones
Ex. Middle Management - Working Class Zone
Ex. Working Employees - Zone in transition
Ex. Support Staff
Honourable mention:
* Central Business District
Ex. The Meeting Room
Risk factors
Conditions that increase the likelihood of negative outcomes (e.g., crime, illness, academic failure).
Ex. Growing up poor
Protective Factors
Conditions that reduce the likelihood of negative outcomes and promote positive development.
Ex. Strong family support
Conclusion
The major contribution of the Social Disorganization theory was showing how crime, deviance, and other social problems cannot be understood, at least at the aggregate level, by using “types of people” explanations.
