Factors Affecting Criminal & Deviant Behaviour: Social Class (AQA GCSE Sociology): Exam Questions

James Patrick studied a gang of teenage boys in Glasgow. He used covert participant observation. He gained access to the gang by befriending ‘Tim’, a gang member who acted as his protector. He met with the gang on 12 occasions between October 1966 and January 1967.

Patrick found the gang to be dangerous – some members became suspicious of him when he chose not to carry a weapon, and was reluctant to fully participate in fights. He left the gang abruptly when the violence became too intense.

Patrick was scared of the gang and waited years before writing up his notes and publishing his work to protect their identities.

Patrick’s work focused on the social conditions that led to the formation of the gang, such as poverty, unemployment and poor housing conditions.

Source: Patrick, J, A Glasgow Gang Observed, 2013.

James Patrick studied a gang of teenage boys in Glasgow. He used covert participant observation. He gained access to the gang by befriending ‘Tim’, a gang member who acted as his protector. He met with the gang on 12 occasions between October 1966 and January 1967.

Patrick found the gang to be dangerous – some members became suspicious of him when he chose not to carry a weapon, and was reluctant to fully participate in fights. He left the gang abruptly when the violence became too intense.

Patrick was scared of the gang and waited years before writing up his notes and publishing his work to protect their identities.

Patrick’s work focused on the social conditions that led to the formation of the gang, such as poverty, unemployment and poor housing conditions.

Source: Patrick, J, A Glasgow Gang Observed, 2013.

Albert Cohen was interested in the reasons why boys committed crime. He argued that working-class boys were not just judged harshly by middle-class adults, but also by middle-class children – working-class boys were more likely to be seen as ‘failures’ by their peers. The standards that these middle-class children applied in terms of language, values and ambitions were likely to make their working-class peers feel inferior and inadequate. This led to status frustration for some working-class boys and they sought to gain status through deviant behaviour and breaking rules.

Source: Cohen, A, Delinquent Boys, (1955)