Citation

Kitsuse JI, Dietrick DC. Am. Sociol. Rev. 1959; 24(2): 208-215.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1959, American Sociological Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

"Delinquent Boys: The Culture of the Gang" is critically examined as a substantive theory of the "delinquent subculture" and as a contribution to a general theory of delinquency. Three major criticisms are made about the theory of the delinquent subculture: (1) The social and cultural bases of the "working-class boy's problem" are ambiguous and subject to equally plausible alternative interpretations. (2) The working-class boy's ambivalence toward the middle-class system does not provide the psychological conditions which would warrant the introduction of the concept of reaction-formation. (3) The reaction-formation thesis raises the question of the independence between the description of the delinquent subculture and the theory which proposes to explain it. Cohen's theory as stated presents added problems of theory and method which render either a direct or indirect test of the theory impossible. The theory of the delinquent subculture is discussed in relation to the value-transmission theories of delinquency, and Cohen's propositions are reformulated to provide hypotheses for an empirical test of his theory. (Abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1959. Copyright © 1959 by the American Sociological Association)

Juvenile Delinquency
Male Offender
Juvenile Offender
Juvenile Male
Male Delinquency
Professional Criticism
Delinquency Causes
Subculture of Delinquency
Subculture Theory
Juvenile Gang
Male Gang
Sociocultural Factors
07-02