NCJ Number
56620
Editor(s)
S D FELDMAN
Date Published
1978
Length
464 pages
Annotation
AN ECLECTIC APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL DEVIANCE IS TAKEN IN THIS TEXT-READER FOR UNDERGRADUATE SOCIOLOGY STUDENTS.
Abstract
THE THEME THAT NO SINGLE PERSPECTIVE SUFFICES TO EXPLAIN THE SOCIOLOGY OF DEVIANCE UNDERLIES THE TEXT'S ANALYSIS OF CONCEPTIONS OF DEVIANCE, METHODS OF STUDYING DEVIANCE, THEORIES OF CAUSATION, AND THE LIFE EXPERIENCES OF SOCIAL DEVIANTS. THIRTY-TWO READINGS, INCLUDING SEVERAL EMPIRICAL STUDIES, ILLUSTRATE AND REINFORCE THE MAJOR POINTS OF THE ANALYSIS. THE OPENING SECTION ON CONCEPTIONS OF DEVIANCE INCLUDES A STUDY OF OVERWEIGHT AS SOCIAL DEVIANCE; A TYPOLOGY OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR; SOCIOLOGICAL AND RADICAL CRITIQUES OF DEFINITIONS OF DEVIANCE; AND STUDIES REPRESENTATIVE OF BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHIATRIC, AND SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON DEVIANCE. PARTICIPANT-OBSERVATION, STATISTICAL, SURVEY, AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ILLUSTRATE THE POINT THAT DIFFERENT RESEARCH TECHNIQUES ARE APPROPRIATE FOR STUDYING DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF DEVIANCE. TWO TYPES OF CAUSAL THEORIES--THOSE THAT FOCUS ON THE DEVIANT AND THOSE THAT FOCUS ON RESPONSE TO THE DEVIANT--ARE EXAMINED IN READINGS ON SOCIAL CONTROL, SOCIAL STRAIN AND ANOMIE, SOCIAL CONFLICT, SUBCULTURAL DEVIANCE, AND LABELING. ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES OF DEVIANTS ARE EXPLORED IN STUDIES OF SINGLE LESBIAN MOTHERS AND FAMILIES WITH ALCOHOLIC MEMBERS. OTHER READINGS ON 'LIFE AS A DEVIANT' CONCERN DEVIANT SUBCULTURAL ORGANIZATION (GANGS) AND THE ASSUMPTION, DENIAL, MAINTENANCE, AND TERMINATION OF A DEVIANT IDENTITY. A 13-PAGE CATEGORIZED BIBLIOGRAPHY, SUBJECT AND NAME INDEXES, LISTS OF REFERENCES, AND SUPPORTING DATA ARE PROVIDED. (LKM)