The Subculture Theories chapter discusses juvenile delinquency and also the most common form of juvenile delinquency. The chapter also talks about numerous different theorists and their theories about juvenile and gang delinquency. Some of the theorists mentioned in this chapter include Solomon Kobrin, Albert Cohen, Richard Cloward, Llyod Ohlin, and Walter Benson Miller.
As an introduction, the chapter first explains that “criminological theories of the 1950s and early 1960s focused on juvenile delinquency” (Williams and McShane, 2014). Most theorists were interested in discovering the origins of delinquent gangs and why different types of gangs developed (Williams and McShane, 2014). Meanwhile, “the cultures studied by the Chicago School began to be referred to by the new sociological term “subcultures”” (Williams and McShane, 2014). The chapter also mentions that after combining these two topics, criminologists started studying gang delinquency and began theorizing about delinquent subcultures (Williams and McShane, 2014). “Albert Cohen in 1955 and Richard A Cloward and Llyod E. Ohlin in 1960 combined the work of the Chicago School with Merton’s anomie theory” (Williams and McShane, 2014). Cohen, Cloward, and Ohlin all focused on urban, lower class, male gang delinquency (Williams and McShane, 2014). Walter Miller’s theory of lower class focal concerns and Wolfgang and…show more content… He also states that gang members can achieve their own status by doing things that they are good at , such as sticking up for themselves or being tough (Williams and McShane, 2014). As previously mentioned, all children strive to achieve status and as long as this exists, gang delinquency among lower-class children will always be a solution to their problems (Williams and McShane,