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The University of California, Davis

STRAIN THEORIES & YOUTH DRUG DEALING
An Analysis of Class, Dignity, & Rational Choice

Juvenile Delinquency
6 March 2015



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This analysis evaluates the manner in which social and economic frustrations drive youth
involvement with the underground drug economy
...
The Stickup Kids and Falling Back provide
ethnographic descriptions of lower-class drug dealing motivations by illuminating the manner in
which inner-city youth embrace the cultural goals of economic stability and social status
(Contreras, 2012; Fader, 2013)
...
‘Bentham’s Sanction Typology and Restrictive Deterrence’
assesses the drug dealing practices of suburban, middle-class youth
...
Overall, lower class drug dealers support the notion of
social and economic motivations driving their delinquent behaviors, however anomie and general
strain theory fail to acknowledge the deterrent effect of economic and social frustrations
embedded within the drug dealing profession for working and middle class youth, and further
ignore their introduction of rational analysis for addressing them
...
Merton (1938) argues that the American socialization process is characterized by the



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pursuit of monetary success and conspicuous consumption, and defines these as universal goals
...
For example, lowerclass individuals often attend inferior schools and lack the funds to enroll in higher education,
making the cultural goal of stable and well-paying employment and financial stability difficult to
achieve (Merton, 1938) This occurrence drives individuals to minimize their economic strains
through embracing one of five various adaptions, most of which do not involve delinquent
responses
...
In addition to the economic
burdens placed on relationships, such as poverty and unemployment, Agnew argues that negative
emotions arise from failing to achieve one’s goals, such as social status, respect from others, or a
masculine identity (Agnew, 1992)
...
General strain theory posits that the magnitude, timing, duration, and
clustering of strains interact to create emotions such as anger, alienation, or rejection, and drives
the need to address them, possibly in delinquent ways
...

The lower class youth in Falling Back and The Stickup Kids described the difficulties of their



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impoverished circumstances, and the frequent existence of structural barriers preventing their
access to formal economies (Contreras, 2012; Fader, 2013)
...
The
working class juveniles in Unwanted, and middle-class youth described by Jacques and Allen,
(2013), however, only came to adopt the innovative means of drug dealing after recognition of
the potential economic strains imposed by police detection, and engagement in rational
evaluation to develop mechanisms for avoiding it (Bucerius, 2014)
...

Lower Class Youth & Economic Strains
Contreras (2012) and Fader (2013) aptly demonstrate the manner in which lower class
youth’s impoverished circumstances and tenuous positions in the formal labor market frequently
produced intense sentiments of frustration or anger, and motivated their interactions with the
illicit drug market
...
They further
describe experiences with the formal economy involving extensive searches and rejection,
classifications as under-qualified and lacking the necessary skills, and long commutes to better
jobs in the suburbs (Fader, 2013)
...
These barriers and subsequent frustrations demonstrate how lower class youth’s



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impoverished circumstances motivated them to seek out the innovative means of drug dealing
...
S
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Working Class Youth & Economic Strains
Further in congruence with Merton’s theory, Bucerius (2014) contends that the adverse
circumstances of relative deprivation and limited options in the formal economy frustrate
vulnerable working class youth, and encourages them to seek relief from economic strains in the
attractive strategy of drug dealing
...
However, Merton’s theory fails
to address working class youth’s fear of formal sanctions, such as arrest, legal fees, or
incarceration, and the manner in which these occurrences impose the threat of economic strains
...
For example, they evaluated the competency of potential
partners before deciding business associations, as well as matter such as which individuals to sell
to, or what drugs to sell and when (Bucerius, 2014)
...
Without the rational assessment of
potential formal sanctions and establishment of mechanisms for avoiding them, working class
youth’s economic strains and relative depravity proved insufficient for motivating their drug
sales
...




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Middle Class Youth & Economic Strains
Similar to working-class youth, Jacques and Allen’s (2013) study of suburban, middleclass drug dealers illuminates the crucial element of rational choice introduced before adapting to
the innovative path of drug sales
...
They acknowledged, however, the potential economic strains of police detection,
such as incarceration and a loss in future employment opportunities, and manufactured the
concept of “customer filtering” before coming to define dealing illicit drugs as the best way to
achieve and maintain their economic goals (Jacques and Allen, 2013)
...
The manner in which middle class youth
first introduced this rational element before adopting innovative means further demonstrates this
ignored element in Merton’s theoretical approach
...
The social strains inherent in drug dealing however,
such as the snitch label or potential for parental detection, increasingly undermine the logic of
general strain theory for working and middle class youth
...

Lower Class Youth & Social Strains
Providing support for general strain theory, lower class youth turned to drug dealing as a
means to ease the negative stimuli associated with a low ascribed status and to address their
failure to achieve cultural goals associated with pride and masculinity
...
The cumulative effects of poverty, racism, and lack of mainstream success left the
inner-city youth with “deeply painful feelings of frustration, disappointment, humiliation, and
shame” (Fader, 2013)
...

The youth recognized that few in their position achieve the role of breadwinner through work in
formal economy, and came to see drug selling as the best way to achieve masculine adulthood
and provide for their families (Contreras, 2012)
...
This occurrence supports
Agnew’s claims that strains associated with social relationships drive lower class youth’s
involvement with illegal drug dealing
...
These youth’s frustrations surrounding their inability
to develop respect and a sense of mastery in their professions encouraged their attractions to



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illicit drug sales, which supports the notion that failing to achieve these valued social goals
motivated their drug crimes (Bucerius, 2014
...
Working class youth frequently described potential strains arising from the application
of the snitch label, or someone who provides law enforcement with information about street
crimes in the community (Bucerius, 2014)
...
For example, working class juveniles mentioned the
inability to create business relationships, the loss of previously established friendships, and the
difficulty in obtaining their original status upon ascription of the snitch label (Bucerius, 2014)
...

Middle Class Youth & Social Strains
Further, Agnew’s strain theory fails to explain middle-class youth’s engagement in the
underground drug economy
...
Rather, they reported that the economic incentive of free
drugs and extra cash drove their behaviors (Jacques and Allen, 2013)
...
Second,
Agnew’s strain theory fails to account for the deterring effect of social frustrations embedded
within the illegal drug profession
...
For example, suburban juveniles described the



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manner in which relationships with their parents deteriorated upon the discovery of their child’s
drug dealing, an occurrence often resulting in shaming or grounding (Jacques and Allen, 2013)
...
For instance, youth mentioned the fear of causing
their parents disappointment, and the burden of needing to ask for help with legal fees to avoid
formal sanctions (Jacques and Allen, 2013)
...

Lastly, Agnew’s strain theory fails to account for the element of rational evaluation
middle class dealers introduced to combat these social strains inherent in drug sales
...
This rational
evaluation protected their relationships with parents and decreased the likelihood of experiencing
related social strains
...
This demonstrates the manner in which youth adopted
logical strategies to avoid the possible strains placed on their relationships before defining drug
dealing as the best way to make extra cash, contributing further to the general undermining of
Agnew’s strain theory for middle class dealers
...
By describing experiences of



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poverty and lacking options in the formal economy, and sentiments of shame stemming from the
inability to meet social goals of dignified employment and respect from others, lower class youth
demonstrate support for Merton and Agnew’s arguments
...
Further, they overlook the introduction of rational strategies, such
as customer filtering or limiting dealing hours, for avoiding these sanctions
...

Delinquent Peers & Criminal Networks
Further shortcomings of anomie and general strain theory include the manner in which
they fail to include important variables introduced by Edwin Sutherland’s differential association
theory
...
This notion proved particularly salient in the
class analysis of youth drug sales
...
These networks enabled the transmission of information such as
methodology for cutting and packaging drugs, or where to stand to sell drugs (Fader, 2013)
...
(Contreras, 2012; Fader, 2013)
...
These dealers maintained close links
through kinship, ethnicity, and neighborhood communities
...
Further, these networks enabled
working class youth’s positive associations to drug dealing, an occurrence demonstrated by their
definitions of the profession as a means to secure stable income and respect from others
(Bucerius, 2014)
...
These adolescents, for example, knew how to
customer filter because of their delinquent peers, whom provided them with valuable information
and introductions to others in the criminal network
...
Further, they framed drug dealing as a
reasonable way to create a supplementary income (Jacques and Allen, 2013), contributing to
their positive definitions and supporting the application of differential association
...
While the logic of these
strain theories remains salient, the introduction of these various elements enables a deeper
understanding the phenomenon
...
A comprehensive analysis of youth’s
involvement in illicit drug sales demands the recognition of these factors, and demonstrates the
necessity of modifying anomie and general strain theories
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1992
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Criminology, 30, 47–87
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2014
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’ in What else should I
do?: immigration, social exclusion, and drug dealing
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Burfeind, James W
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2005
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1st ed
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Contreras, Randol
...
‘Crack Days: Getting Paid’
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United States: University of California Press
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2013
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United States: Rutgers University Press
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and A
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2013
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Journal of Drug Issues 44(2):212–30
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1938
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American Sociological Review, 3, 672–682

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