NCJ Number
130171
Date Published
1990
Length
311 pages
Annotation
This book discusses the nature of deviance, explanations of deviance, and specific deviant behaviors and conditions.
Abstract
In discussing the nature of deviance, the first chapter defines it as "behavior that is unusual, not typical, in a society or group." The second chapter considers several main themes of social thought that attempt to explain why deviance occurs and is perpetrated. There are theories that view the major sources of deviance as related to alienation from normative groups (social integration theories). Another theory holds that there are subcultures of deviance within the dominant culture that transmit deviant behaviors and thoughts through the learning process. Social disorganization and conflict theories focus on the ways in which organizational dysfunction and social and cultural conflicts produce deviance. Other theories focus on how society reacts to the future possibility of deviance, i.e., how social controls can produce deviance. Remaining chapters deal with one or several closely related forms of deviance. The forms of deviance discussed include homicide, assault, rape, and robbery; property or theft crime and white-collar crime in business settings; prostitution and homosexuality; the various forms of mental illness; suicide; and alcohol and other drug abuse. Chapter references and subject index