Deviant behavior

Deviant Behavior provides a comprehensive study of the behavior, beliefs, conditions, and reactions to deviance, giving students a better understanding of this phenomenon. Deviance is discussed from the sociological perspectives of positivism and constructionism. Readers will grasp the reason behind deviant behavior through the positivist perspective and why certain actions, beliefs, and physical characteristics are condemned through the constructionist perspective. New to this edition: Two chapters on crime make clearer distinctions between criminalization of behavior, vs. criminal behavior itself More discussion of the relativity of deviance, including how murder is socially and legally constructed Expands the notion that conspiracy theory is a form of cognitive deviance New discussion furthers the difference between labeling theory and constructionism New Section on environmental pollution with reference to "green criminology" New section added on Deviance and Harm Newsworthy new features include: A Formerly Homeless Man Speaks Out Victimization and Abuse Mass Incarceration Stop and Frisk Missing Black Men? (with implications for families and demography) Arrest-Incarceration Gap Disparities in Sentencing The End of the Crime Decline? The Brother of a Murder Victim Speaks Out A Tattoo Collector Gets Inked Faculty-Student Sex Reflections on Studying BDSM Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Brief Contents 8 Table of Contents 10 Preface 16 Acknowledgments 18 Chapter 1 An Introduction to Deviance 20 Deviance: What Is It? 21 Deviance in Everyday Life 23 Deviance as Non-Pejorative 24 Societal and Situational Deviance 25 The Relativity of Deviance 27 Table 1.1: Changes in Public Opinion over Time, United States 30 Table 1.2: Cross-National Designations of Deviance 30 The ABCs of Deviance 31 Deviant Attitudes and Beliefs 31 Physical Characteristics 33 Tribal Stigma: Race, Religion, and Ethnicity 34 Deviance: Positivism versus Constructionism 35 What about Deviance and Harm? 37 Summary 38 Account: My Life’s Ups and Downs 41 Chapter 2 Explaining Deviant Behavior 46 Positivism 48 Deviant Behavior: Why Do They Do It? 51 Biological Theories of Crime and Deviance 52 Free Will, Rational Choice, and Routine Activity Theory 54 Social Disorganization: The Chicago School 56 Anomie and Strain Theory 57 Differential Association and Learning Theory 62 Social Control Theory 64 Self-Control Theory 65 Summary 68 Account: A Former Homeless Man Speaks Out 70 Chapter 3 Constructing Deviance 76 Deviance and Social Control 79 Formal and Informal Social Control 81 Perspectives that Focus on Defining Deviance 82 Labeling or Interactionist Theory 83 Conflict Theory 89 Feminism 92 Controlology 94 Summary 97 Account: Victimization and Abuse 98 Chapter 4 Poverty and Disrepute 103 Poverty: A Form of Deviance or a Cause? 105 Perspectives on Poverty and Stigma 109 Poverty in the United States 113 Unemployment 117 Welfare 118 The Indignity of Begging 119 Homelessness 120 What about Disease? 122 Race and Poverty 125 Summary 127 Account: Being Poor in Appalachia 128 Chapter 5 Crime and Criminalization 130 The Social Construction of Murder 131 Crime and Deviance: A Conceptual Distinction 133 Common Law and Statutory Law 134 Positivism versus Constructionism 136 Mass Incarceration? 138 Table 5.1: Inmates in Jails and Prisons, 1940–2013 139 Race and the Criminal Justice System 140 Table 5.2: Stop-and-Frisk by Race, New York City, 2002–2015 143 The Arrest–Incarceration Gap 143 Missing Black Men? 144 Banishing the Deviant from Public Life 145 Disparities in Sentencing 149 Summary 151 Account: My Life in and Out of Prison 153 Chapter 6 Criminal Behavior 157 The Uniform Crime Reports 158 Table 6.1: The FBI’s Index Crimes (UCR), 1992–2014 161 The National Crime Victimization Survey 161 Table 6.2: Crime Victimization Rates, NCVS, 1992, 2002, and 2013 (per 1,000) for Population Age 12 and Older 163 The End of the Crime Decline? 163 The Criminologist Looks at Murder 164 Forcible Rape 172 Property Crime 177 Shoplifting and Employee Theft 179 Summary 181 Account: A Murder Victim’s Brother Speaks 183 Chapter 7 White Collar and Corporate Crime 187 Individual versus Structural Deviance 191 The Discovery of White Collar Crime 194 White Collar and Corporate Crime 197 Corporate Crime: Correlative Features 200 Four Examples of Corporate Deviance 204 Environmental Pollution 205 Summary 207 Account: Conspiracy to Defraud The IRS 208 Chapter 8 Substance Abuse 214 Rates of Use: NSDUH and MTF 215 Table 8.1: Drug Use, Driving while Drinking, and Number of Heroin Users, Persons Age 12 and Older, 2002 and 2014 216 Table 8.2: Drug Use, Past 30 Days, 1991, 2001, 2014 219 A Classification of Drugs and Drug Effects 219 Alcohol Consumption: An Introduction 221 Acute Effects of Alcohol 223 Alcohol Abuse and Risky, Deviant Behaviors 224 Alcohol Abuse and Sexual Victimization 227 Accompaniments of Drug Abuse: ADAM and DAWN 229 Table 8.3: Arrestees Urine-Testing Positive for Drugs, Percentage, Median City Figures, 2013, ADAM-II 230 Table 8.4: ADAM, Adult Male Arrestees, Median City Figures, 2010 230 Table 8.5: Drug-Related ED Visits, DAWN, 2011 231 Table 8.6: NSDUH and Drug-Related ED Visits Ratios, United States Population, Age 12 and Older, 2011 231 Marijuana Use as Deviance and Crime 233 Summary 236 Account: An Executive’s Substance Abuse 239 Chapter 9 Sexual Deviance 246 Positivism versus Constructionism 248 Sex Surveys: An Introduction 250 The Kinsey Reports, 1940s–1950s 251 The Sex in America Survey, 1990s 253 The General Social Surveys, 1972–2012 255 Gay Sex: Departing from Deviance 257 Adultery 263 Gender: The Crucial Ingredient 265 Summary 266 Account: Faculty–Tudent Sex 268 Chapter 10 Unconventional Beliefs 272 The Social Functions of Belief Systems 277 Religious Sects and Cults 280 Creationism, Intelligent Design, and Evolution 283 Conspiracy Theories 288 Paranormal Beliefs as Deviant 291 Summary 294 Accounts: A Potpourri of Scientifically Deviant Beliefs 296 Chapter 11 Mental Disorder 301 What Is Mental Disorder? 302 Essentialism Approaches Mental Disorder 304 Thought versus Mood Disorders 306 Constructionism 307 Labeling Theory 309 The Modified Labeling Approach 311 On Being Sane in Insane Places 312 The Epidemiology of Mental Disorder 314 Chemical Treatment of Mental Disorder 318 Deinstitutionalization 320 Mental Disorder as Deviance: An Overview 321 Intellectual Developmental Disorder 322 Autism Spectrum Disorder 324 Summary 326 Account: On Being a Paranoid Schizophrenic 328 Chapter 12 Deviant Physical Characteristics 332 Abominations of the Body 336 Physical Disability 338 Looksism: Violations of Aesthetic Standards 340 Extreme Body Modification 343 Obesity 345 Disability and Tertiary Deviance 351 Summary 352 Account: A Tattoo Collector Gets Inked 354 Chapter 13 Tribal Stigma: Race, Religion, and Ethnicity 360 Racism and Stigma: An Overview 362 Racism and Discrimination 366 Table 13.1: Attitudes toward Intermarriage, 1958–2011 371 Islamophobia 371 Anti-Semitism 375 Summary 380 Account: Growing Up Colored in the South 381 Chapter 14 Concluding Thoughts 385 Account: Reflections on Studying BDSM 394 References 397 Author Index 413 Subject Index 420 "Deviant behavior is not a subject that you study in school and then file away. It is a study of life and is ever changing. Defining the concept of deviant behavior is one of the most difficult tasks to overcome when studying the subject. Sociologists probably disagree more over the meaning of deviant behavior than any other subject. Deviant Behavior is an easy-to-read text that defines and explains the concepts and issues involved in the study of deviant behavior. The book begins by exploring the nature and definition of deviance. It discusses why certain conduct is labeled as deviant and some is not. It examines the two major perspectives on what constitutes deviance--positivism and constructionism. It goes on to look at the various theoretical explanations for deviant behavior, including free will or lack thereof, rational choice, social control, cultural transmission, strain theories, and biological and psychological explanations. The book provides an in-depth explanation of the many categories of deviant behavior--interpersonal violence, self-destructive behavior, family violence, business and organized crime, governmental deviance, cybercrimes, and human trafficking and commercial sex. The authors take an international approach and emphasize that what is deviant in one culture may not be deviant in another. To aid understanding, each chapter concludes with a detailed summary, review questions, and definitions of the relevant key terms."--Provided by publisher