He further argues lower class males inevitably fail within the educational system, which results in the delinquent with a low skilled and underpaid job. Therefore, delinquents are left without the chance to prove themselves and denied the opportunity to gain respect and status amongst society. Consequently, the aggravation and disappointment the youth experiences results in them turning into delinquent boys and coming together with fellow status peers and forming a juvenile gang.
Although the book has many merits, Cohen acknowledges the criticisms put forward by different theorists and provides plausible explanations for these. The main core of Cohen’s arguments that he states is, delinquent sub cultures arise if a child is denied status within the society. Consequently, if child deprivation did not occur then we would not see the delinquent sub culture. In this respect, Cohen focuses on the delinquent’s structural problems evolving from the education they achieve and the job that reflects this. Psychologists and psychoanalysts have argued that delinquent structures can develop from factors such as cultural background, family disputes and the psychology of the child (p.73-74). However, this aspect is not disregarded in Cohen’s book as he has emphasised that families are units in the class system, therefore the problems occurred within the family are primarily due to the society.
Cohen’s study was carried out in the United States where gangs are more common, however, is this the case for all cultures? British studies have provided support for Cohen’s response to the formation of sub cultural gangs amongst the working class boys. David Hargreave (1967) carried out an observational study of working class boys in a secondary school and concluded that individuals who fail are more likely to become delinquents.
In his book, Cohen does not see delinquency as an innate disposition or for one to contrive delinquency individually. He argues that one has to be part of a group where the pattern of delinquency is already established and where it is required and seen to be part of the norm within the group. However, Cohen fails to explain why violent crimes such as rape, which is very individualistic, occurs out of the bounds of gang culture.
Furthermore, Cohen’s literature can be largely criticised, as he only focuses on males as being part of a sub culture and completely disregards women. One explanation that he puts forward is, statistics have shown male delinquency is at least four times more common than female delinquency and females tend not to form gangs. He also argues that this book is not offering to “account for all delinquency in American society nor all male delinquency” (p.48). He looks at the largest contributor to juvenile crime which is the formation of gangs.
Additionally, it can be seen in this book Cohen looks at working class delinquents, however, it can be argued that he does not look at middle class delinquency. He states that we are lacking in research concerning the contents and therefore sub stain from middle class delinquency. Thus, until we do not have descriptive knowledge we cannot speculate middle class delinquency. However, Cohen claims that the research carried out does occur in working class delinquency. It could be anticipated that sub cultural delinquency will differ in quality and frequency in the middle class from that of the working class (p.161).
The testability and reliability of his research has been disapproved by Kitsuse and Dietrick (1959) who argue that Cohen's theory is questionable on its validity. They feel its research directives are not clear. The theory shows an emergence of an existing subculture and it focuses mainly on certain populations within the society. Further, the theorists argue that to understand the delinquent subculture, historical data is required to make the theory testable, hence, his proposed ideas are not completely valid as the historical aspect is disregarded. Therefore, Cohen also needs to consider the full background of an individual before categorising them.
Despite such criticisms, Delinquent Boys is a valuable text in which Cohen thoroughly explores the formation of gangs amongst working class boys. For those new to the sub culture theory, the book provides an easy understanding of the basis of juvenile crime. The book impresses that the working class dominate the American class system, but nevertheless the society has to mould itself to the criteria’s set out by the middle class to prevent them from becoming delinquents. Cohen establishes why a families position in the class structure cannot be ignored as this is the primary root for the configuration of gangs. This study contributes much to the structure of gangs, but before labelling an individual there are many more aspects to be looked at, such as the entire background of a delinquent which could be further illuminated.
References
Hargreaves, D. (1967) Social Relations in a Secondary School, London: Routledge.
Kitsuse J.I. & Dietrick D.C (1959) ‘Delinquent Boys: A Critique’ American Sociological Review (24)2: 209-214
