A Partial Test of Institutional Anomie Theory at the Individual Level for German Adolescents

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

In recent years, there have been efforts to integrate macro- and individual-level analyses within the framework of Institutional Anomie Theory. Steven Messner and colleagues have developed a heuristic model that links different dimensions of individual behavior to higher aggregate levels of criminal behavior. They propose that the dominance of the economy within the institutional balance of power manifests itself in (and is reinforced by) individuals who value economic roles more than non-economic ones, are insensitive to the morality of means of actions and whose market transactions tend to be guided by rational cost/benefit considerations. The current study uses unusual data from a nationally representative survey of youth in a recently unified Germany in the early 1990s to test basic assumptions of IAT and its applicability to minor forms of instrumental delinquency at the individual level. The data offer a unique possibility to compare individuals who were socialized in two different economic systems within Germany. Preliminary results suggest support for some of IAT’s assumptions, such as the importance of monetary wealth as a correlate of delinquent behavior.

Author

• Katharina Neissl, Northeastern University