Which theory posits that crime results from frustration when individuals cannot achieve financial and personal goals through legitimate means?

Which theory posits that crime results from frustration when individuals cannot achieve financial and personal goals through legitimate means?

• A. Psychoanalytic Theory
• B. Strain Theory
• C. Social Disorganization Theory
• D. Social Reality of Crime

Answer: (B)

Strain theory explains crime as a response to pressure when people cannot reach culturally valued goals through legitimate means. When society emphasizes success and financial achievement but blocks access to the proper channels—because of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, or lack of education—people experience frustration or strain. To cope, some turn to illegal methods to attain those goals, making crime a form of adaptation to the blocked opportunities. This idea, associated with Merton, highlights how the desire for money and status can push individuals toward crime when legitimate routes are unavailable. Other theories focus on different mechanisms—psychoanalytic theory on inner conflicts, social disorganization on neighborhood conditions, or broader critiques of crime perception—so they don’t center on the cascading frustration from blocked legitimate means as the trigger for criminal behavior.

Strain theory explains crime as a response to pressure when people cannot reach culturally valued goals through legitimate means. When society emphasizes success and financial achievement but blocks access to the proper channels—because of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, or lack of education—people experience frustration or strain. To cope, some turn to illegal methods to attain those goals, making crime a form of adaptation to the blocked opportunities. This idea, associated with Merton, highlights how the desire for money and status can push individuals toward crime when legitimate routes are unavailable. Other theories focus on different mechanisms—psychoanalytic theory on inner conflicts, social disorganization on neighborhood conditions, or broader critiques of crime perception—so they don’t center on the cascading frustration from blocked legitimate means as the trigger for criminal behavior.