Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Sociology > youth deviance > Flashcards

youth deviance Flashcards

1
Q

Delinquent subcultures…

A

A subculture involved in deviant behaviour that may not be criminal e.g. vandalism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Criminal subcultures…

A

Subcultures that are actively involved in criminal behaviour that may be organised e.g. drug dealing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Gangs…

A

To media and police, this is a group of youths who cause harm to the community, are often involved in criminality and have violent tendencies.

Often have a name, territory, leader, hierarchy etc

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Spectacular youth subcultures…

A

Highly visible subcultures of the 1950s-70s, with highly recognisable styles and attitudes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Anti-school subcultures…

A

Pupils who reject the norms and values of school by seeing it as negative to do well, not obey rules, disrupt classes etc.

May also be anti-education and not value academic success.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Functionalism - Merton (1938)…

A
  • Individuals experience a strain between the values of society and what they can achieve. They may turn to deviance in order to achieve these values.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Functionalism - Cohen (1955)…

A
  • Teenage boys want status and are aware of mainstream values like success at school and financial success. A working class boy may attach himself to these values and see himself as inferior to the middle class as they can’t achieve this, creating status frustration
  • Delinquent subcultures may have values of aggression to deal with status frustration as this gives them status, explaining why more working class boys get involved in crime.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Functionalism - Cloward and Ohlin (1961)…

A
  • Deviance as a reaction to problems achieving mainstream values. In 3 ways:
  • Criminal subcultures - in slum areas where there is a hierarchy of criminal opportunity
  • Conflict subcultures - no hierarchy of criminal opportunity available so youths turn to violence and gangs formed to defend areas
  • Retreatist subcultures - formed by youths who are unable to achieve in legit ways or turning to criminal subcultures so retreat from society’s values and descend into addiction
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Functionalism - Miller (1958)…

A
  • Criticism - challenges the idea of a value consensus shared by everyone
  • Argues that working class boys don’t try to be academically successful as its a middle class value, they are more concerned by focal concerns like being tough or street smart
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Criticisms of functionalism…

A
  • Generalises the working class as they are not all the same and there are individual and ethnic variations
  • Functionalists disagree with each other e.g. Cohen states deviance from not achieving mainstream values while Miller states its from failure to achieve individual values
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

New right - Murray (1984)…

A
  • Youths in deviant subcultures have not received proper socialisation into the value consensus held by the rest of society. Instead they have a deviant set of norms based on dependency, criminality and laziness
  • Increased single mothers raising boys can explain criminality as it leaves them with no father figure and are unsocialised with little impulse control. Girls get pregnant searching for replacement father figures.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Criticisms of new right…

A
  • MacDonald (2008) argues parents want to make a living for themselves to support their children as being on benefits is embarrassing.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Marxism - Lea and Young (1993)…

A

3 explanations for crime and deviance in youths:

  • Relative deprivation - youths feeling more deprived when they compare themselves to others, the media shows what other people have leading to an increased in feelings of deprivation
  • Marginalisation - feeling excluded from society, youths feel excluded as they have a lack of power, rights and respect which can cause anger and make them deviant
  • Subculture - feelings of relative deprivation and marginalisation lead youths to form subcultures to share norms and values that stem from their frustrations.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Criticisms of Marxism…

A
  • Feminists argue they ignore gender
  • Make generalisations about youths as not all youths join subcultures
  • Ideas are outdated as there are few spectacular youth subcultures today
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Interactionist - Becker (1963)…

A
  • Labelling relates to power as those with power, such as the police, have the power to make labels stick.
  • Once labelled, a person may accept/internalise this and change their behaviour to fit in with this label - self-fulfilling prophecy
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Interactionist - Cicourel (1968)…

A

There are 3 stages that deviants face in US criminal justice system:

1- police stop/search individual based on interpretations of suspicious behaviour

2- police arrest individual which may be based off suspects appearance

3- probation officer has picture of a ‘typical delinquent’ and assess the suspect to this profile

Found that the middle class is likely to get away with behaviour as they have the power/capital to do so unlike working class who can’t afford lawyers so get arrested

17
Q

Criticisms of interactionist…

A
  • They assume a label comes first which doesn’t explain why some youths commit deviant acts before they have been labelled
  • Not everyone who is labelled acts upon it as they may reject their label
18
Q

Social class and delinquent subcultures - Young (2003)…

A
  • ‘Bulimic society’ where citizens are encouraged to worship money, status and success but some can’t achieve this, especially the underclass, and they feel anger/embarrassment.
  • Working class youth deviance is a response to social exclusion through rebellion that is driven by a desire to fit in.
19
Q

Social class and delinquent subcultures - Harding (2014)…

A
  • Saw gangs as a social arena of competition where members struggle for status and survival by maintaining ‘street capital’ at high stakes.
20
Q

Social class and gangs - Decker and Van Winkle (1996)…

A
  • The reason for youth gangs is from pulls (attractiveness of gang through status, making money etc) and pushes (from social, economic and cultural disadvantages)
  • Feeling marginalised can cause youths from the underclass to join gangs. Being from a dysfunctional family can make youths join gangs as it gives them the safety and support they miss.
21
Q

Social class and gangs - White (2002)…

A
  • Gangs tend to be linked to conditions of the underclass such as poverty or social exclusion and gangs arise when these conditions become evident.
  • Gangs provide a sense of social inclusion, support and security for vulnerable groups of youths, helping them to cope with oppressive environments.
22
Q

Social class and anti-school subcultures - Brown (1987)…

A

There are 3 responses to education in the working class:

  • Getting in - from low achievers who wanted to join manual occupations
  • Getting out - from high achievers who wanted to use education to improve social position
  • Getting on - from ‘ordinary’ working class youths who got on with it and complied to rules of school
23
Q

Social class and anti-school subcultures - Mac and Ghail (1994)…

A

There are fluid groups in schools that have different responses to it:

  • ‘Ordinary lads’ - not academic and indifferent to school
  • ‘Academic achievers’ - pro-school and worked hard
  • ‘Macho lads’ - formed anti-school subculture where they values acting tough and saw academic pupils as ‘dickhead achievers’
24
Q

Gender and delinquent boys - Harding (2014)…

A
  • How masculinity is accomplished depends on the social field and young male finds himself in.
  • Those without access to paid employment, a traditional source of hegemonic masculinity, will find other ways to achieve their masculinity.
25
Q

Gender and delinquent boys - Campbell (1993)…

A
  • The state has denied men access to extreme forms of masculinity by denying legitimate masculine status through academic success, employment, breadwinner role.
  • This has meant deviance and anti-social behaviour has become the main way young men can express their masculinity.
26
Q

Gender and delinquent girls - Heidensohn (1989)…

A
  • Girls are subjected to stricter social control by peer groups in terms of reputation and family in terms of when they are allowed out the house.
  • Also controlled by idea that their place is in the domestic sphere, this prevents them from engaging in delinquent behaviour.
  • Girls risk becoming double deviant by going against both socialised femininity and laws.
27
Q

Gender and delinquent girls - Haring (2014)…

A
  • Girls in gangs will never become leaders but can become fixers (e.g. hiding weapons and drugs). Boys will leave this business to girls seeing it as ‘girls business’ and a vital part of a gangs operation.
  • Violence/sexual violence against young women is used as a common way of keeping them in line.
28
Q

Gender and anti-school subcultures - Mac an Ghail (1994)…

A
  • Macho lads who valued the 3Fs: football, fighting and f***ing.
  • They valued this extreme form of hegemonic masculinity as resistance to a perceived threat against their masculinity, expressed by bulling academic achievers.
29
Q

Gender and anti-school subcultures - Blackman (1998)…

A
  • New wave girls, defined by punk music tastes and appearances like unconventional hair and makeup
  • Based on resistance against their gender and others expectations of it, expressed by challenging school rules, however were not anti-education.
30
Q

Ethnicity and delinquent subcultures - Nightingale (1993)…

A
  • Studied young black males, argues they consumed mainstream US culture through the media, sharing values like consumerism and money.
  • They were excluded racially and economically from fully participating in mainstream means of achieving goals so they turned to violence and crime to achieve them.
31
Q

Ethnicity and delinquent subcultures - Bourgois (1995)…

A
  • Studied Latino and African-American drug dealers
  • Growing up poor in a rich city creates street culture where deviant practices become the norm, with drug dealing as their means for survival and achieving respect
32
Q

Ethnicity and anti-school subcultures - Sewell (1997)…

A

4 visible reactions to school among African-Caribbean boys:

  • Conformists pro-education, pro-school
  • Innovators pro-education, anti-school
  • Retreatists rejected goals of education and means of achieving them.
  • Rebels formed their own alternative subcultures

Argues majority of black boys are conformists but the rebels got attention and created negative stereotypes

33
Q

Ethnicity and anti-school subcultures - Archer (2003)…

A
  • Studied Muslim boys
  • Demonstrated masculine/religious identities in peer groups against the demonisation of young Muslim males in the media, seeing their identity as Muslim and that their membership of anti-school subculture gave them protection against other racial groups.
34
Q

Media and youth deviance - Cohen (1972)…

A
  • Media coverage of mods and rockers whose fights were no different to usual evening fights caused a moral panic as there was an exaggerated concern about all young people, with the mods and rockers being painted as folk devils.
  • Moral panic - over-exaggerated reaction among the public to a social issue
35
Q

Media and youth deviance - Young (1971)…

A
  • Looked at meanings attached to interactions by police and hippies as police saw them as scruffy, pot heads and treated them as such.
  • Result of this labelling was drug taking becoming a main part of hippies identities and to exaggerate the original deviant traits.
  • Deviancy amplification - translation of fantasy (accepting media stereotypes), negotiation of reality (negotiate evidence to fit stereotypes), amplification (self-fulfilling prophecy’s that can amplify deviance)

Sociology (9 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions