Nowhere to Grow by Les Whitbeck and Dan Hoyt explored the lives of homeless and runaway teens in the Midwest. The authors found that “associating with deviant peers” had a dramatic effect on a wide range of deviant behaviors including increasing “the likelihood of serious substance abuse almost 32 times.” What theory of deviance considers the way in which such interpersonal relationships help to predict deviant behavior?Group of answer choicesself-fulfilling prophecyretreatismdifferential associationlabeling theory

Factors contributing to social deviance (e.g., social, economic, psychological)

Theoretical perspectives on social deviance (e.g., functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism)Types of social deviance (e.g., criminal, non-criminal, formal, informal)Factors contributing to social deviance (e.g., social, economic, psychological)

Robert Merton’s structural strain theory sees deviance as the result of a person’s position in a social structure. What do you think Jack Katz, author of Seductions of Crime, would say about structural strain theory?Group of answer choicesMerton’s analysis fails because it does not understand that some people will reject both mainstream cultural goals and the institutionalized means to achieve them.Merton’s analysis was correct in that background factors are almost always the most effective way to predict who will commit deviant acts.A focus on social position fails to consider the emotional appeal that a deviant act has for an individual.Merton needs to look at a broader range of background factors, including age and sexuality.

The key insight of the __________ theoretical approach is that deviance is a necessary part of social organization.A.structural-functionalB.social-conflictC.feministD.symbolic-interactionSubmit

What has most of the sociological literature on deviance traditionally focused on?Group of answer choicescrimemental illnessthe extremely wealthythe emotional appeal of deviant acts