NCJ Number
116986
Date Published
1988
Length
369 pages
Annotation
The sociology of deviance is characterized by diversity and does not constitute a single problem with a single solution.
Abstract
The sociology of deviance encompasses moral and political reasoning, and there are quite disparate contexts within society for the study of criminology for which sociologists attempt to explain the world of laws, courts, criminals, police, and prisons. Effective analysis of deviance requires the cultivation of intimate associations and information such as observation, case histories, and biographies. Voluntary participant observation methods can be employed to obtain sociological information or sociologists can conduct controlled interviews in prisons and mental hospitals. Victim surveys represent another source of information, and indirect sources of information, such as official statistics and newspapers, are also available. Sociological theories of deviance are reviewed, including functionalism, anomie, culture and subculture, symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, control, radical criminology, and feminist criminology theories. The translation of deviance theories into social policy is discussed. 674 references.