SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION: THEORY, FORMS AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The social disorganization is a sociological theory posed by the influence of the neighborhood in which a person grows up in the likelihood that the crimes committed. It was developed by the Chicago School and is considered one of the most important ecological theories in sociology.

According to this theory, people who commit crimes are influenced by the environment around them, even more than they are affected by their individual characteristics. That is, where they live is more important than their personality in determining how likely a person is to commit a crime.

Theory of social disorganization

origins

Thomas and Znaniecki were the first authors to introduce principles of the theory in their research between 1918 and 1920. They studied how a person's thought process is determined by the interaction between their behavior and their situation.

In 1925 Park and Burgess developed a second theory more linked to ecological concepts, in which urban societies were defined as environments that interacted with each other in the same way that occurs in nature according to Darwin's theory of evolution.

Based on this idea, society is defined as an entity that operates as a single organism.

In 1934 Edwin Sutherland adapted the principles of disorganization theory to explain the growth of crime in developing societies belonging to the proletariat. According to the author, this evolution brings with it a series of cultural changes that can increase the crime rate.

Development

In 1942 two authors from the Chicago School of Criminology - named Henry McKay and Clifford Shaw - developed the definitive theory of social disorganization as a product of their research.

The theory of the two authors indicates that the physical and social environment in which an individual grows up (or inhabits) is the main reason for all the behaviors that they carry out based on their behavior.

This is a theory related mainly to the study of crimes, and is used to predict where a crime can occur according to the type of neighborhood.

According to both authors, the places where crimes are most commonly carried out in the United States tend to have three main factors: their inhabitants tend to be of varied ethnicities, there is a high level of poverty, and health conditions are precarious.

According to the results of their studies, Shaw and McKay affirmed that crime is not a reflection of individual actions, but of the collective state of individuals. According to this theory, crimes are acts committed in response to abnormal living conditions.

It is usually used as a tool to predict the location and prevention of youth violence, by locating environments that meet the given characteristics.

Advances in theory

Although Shaw and McKay were the authors who laid the foundations for the development of the theory of social disorganization, other subsequent authors have worked based on their research to expand the concept.

In 1955 Robert Faris adopted the principles of the concept to take them further. Through the theory of social disorganization, he also explained the emergence of high rates of suicide, mental illness, and gang violence. According to Faris, social disorganization weakens the relationships that make up a society.

Robert Bursik supported Shaw and McKay's theory, stating that a neighborhood can continue to present the same state of disorganization even if its inhabitants change.

This concept had been introduced by McKay and Shaw themselves, but had received various criticisms. The Bursik study reconfirmed this concept.

In 1993 Robert Sampson assessed that the largest number of crimes in low-income communities are usually committed by groups in their teens.

He relates the emergence of these trends with the lack of social control to prevent young people from growing up in environments prone to violence.

Forms of social disorganization

The collapse of community controls

When a neighborhood begins to lose the natural control that must exist for everything to function normally, people begin to modify their behavior to adapt to the new conditions. This creates disorder in these small societies.

Uncontrolled immigration

Immigrants, especially illegal ones, often come to underprivileged neighborhoods to settle initially.

In turn, immigrants who come to these neighborhoods may be low-income and poorly educated, leading to local problems with residents.

Social factors

There are certain social factors that are identified with disorganization. Among these are divorces, the birth of illegitimate children, and a disproportionate amount of male population in a neighborhood.

Disadvantaged neighborhood

Neighborhoods that have inhabitants with precarious living conditions often lead to the development of criminal values ​​within these sub-societies. A low economic condition usually means a high social disorder.

Examples

The emergence of local gangs in socially disorganized neighborhoods is one of the clearest examples to explain the theory.

The precarious living conditions create a cultural environment that lends itself to the formation of groups with members who support each other.

These members spend their time committing crimes and operating in a dangerous environment. In turn, the tradition of belonging to a gang can be inherited by other future inhabitants of the area, which also explains the stability in the crime rate even though these areas are inhabited by different people.

Another example occurs widely in low-income neighborhoods in the United States. Parents in these societies often abandon their children very young.

This creates a cultural tendency to commit crimes in order to obtain the necessary funds required to support the family.

References

1. Review of the Roots of Youth Violence: Literature Reviews, R. Seepersad, 2016. Taken from children.gov.on.ca
2. Social Disorganization: Meaning, Characteristics and Causes, Shelly Shah, (nd). Taken from sociologydiscussion.com
3. Criminology: Social Disorganization Theory Explained, Mark Bond, March 1, 2015. Taken from linkedin.com
4. Social Disorganization Theory, Wikipedia in English, January 8, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org
5. Social Disorganization, A. Rengifo, November 1, 2017. Taken from oxfordbibliografies.com