Anomie is a theory within the discipline of criminology. David Emile Durkheim linked Anomic Suicide to disillusionment and disappointment. Emile Durkheim defined the term anomie as a condition where social and moral norms are confused, unclear, or simply not present. Emile Durkheim felt that this lack of norms led to deviant behavior. Merton’s most influential work was his theory of anomie. Anomie is a concept developed by David Emile Durkheim to describe an absence of clear societal norms and values. Anomie means a condition or malaise which in individuals is characterized by an absence or diminution of standards or values. David Emile Durkheim used it in his book Suicide.
David Emile Durkheim with Karl Marx and Max Weber is considered as the main architect of modern social science. Anomia describes the individual's lack of integration in social life. Even models who committed suicide was generally as a result of anomie. Anomie can occur in several different situations. For example, the undermining of traditional values may result from cultural contact. Robert King Merton first published the theory in 1938 in an article titled "Social Structure and Anomie" (Hunt, 1961:59). It was this work that catapulted Merton into the sociological spotlight in which he has forever remained.
The concept of anomie can be helpful in partially understanding the experience of colonized Aboriginal peoples as their traditional values are disrupted, yet they do not identify with the new cultural values imposed upon them: they lose a sense of authoritative normative regulation. Anomia is a social psychological condition, rather than a societal condition which ‘anomie’ refers to, characterized by a breakdown in values and a feeling of isolation. 'Anomia' is much easier to measure than has Durkheim's concept of 'anomie'.
GOVERNMENT REGULATION,
SOCIAL ANOMIE AND PROTESTANT GROWTH IN LATIN AMERICA
A CROSS-NATIONAL ANALYSIS - Anthony Gill. The rapid growth of evangelical Protestantism in Latin America has received scholarly
attention. The explanation for this phenomenon has been a variant of 'social anomie'
theory that focuses on changes in social demand for religion. Individuals experiencing
socio-economic crisis become displaced from their communities and lose their cultural
identities. I argue that the degree of government regulation of religious economies can
best account for cross-national variations in Protestant growth. This analysis suggests
that secularization is a function of government policy.
REVISITING
MERTON: CONTINUITIES IN THE THEORY OF ANOMIE-AND-OPPORTUNITY-STRUCTURE
Sanjay Marwah, George Mason University and Mathieu Deflem. Abstract: This paper discusses recent criticisms of the Mertonian theory of deviant
behavior and argues that a visionary sociological paradigm of
anomie-and-opportunity-structures underlies Merton’s contribution. We argue that
future research should identify, examine, and test differentiated aspects of the
anomie-and-opportunity-structures paradigm in order to arrive at a more consistent and
substantiated conclusion on the validity of Merton’s project.
BEHAVIOR GENETICS AND ANOMIE/STRAIN THEORY - ANTHONY WALSH. Behavior genetics is a biologically-friendly environmental discipline that often tells us more about environmental effects on individual traits than about genetic effects. Anomie/social strain theory is used to illustrate the usefulness of behavior genetics to criminological theories. Behavior genetics examines the individual differences that sort people into different modes of adaptation and that lead them to cope constructively or destructively with strain.
Poverty, Socioeconomic Change, Institutional Anomie, and Homicide - Sang-Weon Kim, Dong-Eui University, South Korea, William Alex Pridemore. Abstract: This study examined institutional anomie theory in the context of transitional Russia. We employed an index of negative socioeconomic change and measures of family, education, and polity to test the hypothesis that institutional strength conditions the effects of poverty and socioeconomic change on homicide rates. Results of models estimated using negative binomial regression analysis show direct positive effects of poverty and socioeconomic change and direct negative effects of family strength and polity on regional homicide rates.
A Developmental Test of
Mertonian Anomie Theory - SCOTT
MENARD.
Merton's theory of anomie and deviant behavior has not been tested adequately. A careful
review of Merton's writings on anomie theory is used to construct a more complete and
rigorous test of the theory for respondents in early, middle, and late adolescence.
ANOMIE AND STRAIN:
CONTEXT AND CONSEQUENCES OF MERTON’S TWO THEORIES -
Richard Featherstone, Mathieu Deflem.
Abstract: Robert Merton presented two not always clearly differentiated theories in his
seminal explorations on the social-structure-and-anomie paradigm: a strain theory and an
anomie theory. We contend that scholars who are critical of strain theory should not
automatically discard Merton’s anomie theory, because the perspective of anomie is
compatible with several other theories of crime and delinquency.
ASSESSING MESSNER AND
ROSENFELD'S INSTITUTIONAL ANOMIE THEORY: A PARTIAL TEST
MITCHELL B. CHAMLIN, JOHN K. COCHRAN.
In Crime and the American Dream, Messner and Rosenfeld contend that culturally and
structurally produced pressures to secure monetary rewards, coupled with weak controls
from noneconomic social institutions, promote high levels of instrumental crime. The
nonlinear models show considerable, indirect support for Messner and Rosenfeld's
institutional anomie theory, revealing that the effects of poverty on property crime
depend on levels of structural indicators of the capacity of noneconomic institutions to
ameliorate the criminogenic impact of economic deprivation.
An Empirical Examination
of the Anomie Theory of Drug Use. -
Dull, R. Thomas.
Abstract: Investigated the relationship between anomie theory, as measured by Srole's
Anomie Scale, and self-admitted drug use in an adult population. Bivariate
cross-comparison correlations indicated anomie was significantly correlated with several
drug variables, but these associations were extremely weak and of little explanatory
value.
Institutional anomie and societal variations in crime: a critical appraisal, Jensen G. Messner and Rosenfeld proposed an institutional anomie theory of crime, incorporating the proposition that societal investments in programs to buffer citizens from capricious market forces are inversely related to rates of lethal violence among societies. This paper outlines several limitations of the theory and brings data from the World Values Surveys and other sources to bear on their characterization of American culture, their arguments about the impact of economic dominance on other institutions, and alternative explanations of the link between decommodification and homicide.
From Anomie to Anomia and Anomic Depression: A Sociological Critique on the Use of Anomie in Psychiatric Research, Mathieu Deflem. Abstract: The author demonstrates that the sociological concept of anomie has undergone important transformations when applied in psychiatric research. It is argued that these transformations are not fully in concordance with the original theories of anomie as they were set forth by Durkheim and Merton.
Advancing Institutional
Anomie Theory - A Microlevel Examination Connecting Culture, Institutions, and
Deviance
Lisa R. Mufti.
Institutional anomie theory contends that crime can be explained by an examination
of American society, particularly the exaggerated emphasis on economic success inherent in
American culture, which has created a "cheating orientation" that permeates
structural institutions. The current study tests the robustness of Institutional
anomie theory by operationalizing Institutional anomie theory variables at the individual level and looking at a minor form of deviance, student
cheating. Results related to the hypothesis that American students, relative to
foreign-born students, will have an increased adherence to economic goal orientations that
increase cheating behaviors are presented, as are suggestions for future studies.