Social Disorganization: Expanded Theoretical Understanding, Expanded Application

• In Event: Advancing Social Disorganization Theory In Crime and Punishment Research

Abstract

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose is to explore how the understanding and application of Social Disorganization theory may be expanded, thus explaining a broader range of phenomena.
Methods: We explore the development of social disorganization theory, beginning with Park and Burgess (1925) and Elliott and Merrill (1934). Later, Shaw and McKay (1942) used social disorganization theory to study juvenile delinquency in lower-income areas of Chicago. The theory laid dormant for some time and was “rediscovered” by theorists such as Bursik and Grasmick (2002) and Sampson and Groves (1989), but their rediscovery tended to exclude Elliott and Merrill (1934), Faris (1948), and others who offered a broader understanding and application of the theory.
Findings: Social Disorganization theory can explain phenomena at the macro level but also at the micro level, as shown, for example, by Elliott and Merrill (1934), who applied it to explain various social problems such as crime, delinquency, family breakdown, mental illness, and suicide.
Conclusion: We suggest that the expanded version of social disorganization theory be shared and applied to various social problems including but not limited to those studied by the early social disorganization theorists.

Authors

• Lin K. Huff-Corzine, University of Central Florida

• Vernon Headley, University of Central Florida