dapt was seen by Merton as depending upon the access of institutionalized means of self-gratification and the degree to which there is strain between oneÆs aspirations and potentials. Those persons who experience anomie were seen by Merton as more likely to engage in deviant acts because they are alienated from society and unable to use institutionalized means of achieving goals that are socially acceptable. Thus, strain induces the potential for criminal behavior (Akers & Sellers, 2004).
Anomie or strain theory is not unmindful of the role played by individual factors in shaping criminal and/or deviant behavior. Individualistic theories tend to revitalize early theories of crime and to emphasize individual actors exercising rational choice or the positivistic portrayal of crime as the result of organic anomalies or psychological defects). In essence, individualistic theory focuses on individual actors but makes some reference to groups which share certain attributes. This particular approach to identifying the causes of crime tends to downplay social influences or to consider them secondary with respect to personality and other individual traits. This suggests certain synergies between individualistic and strain theories of crime and deviance.
Akers and Sellers (2004) pointed out that when it was first introduced, MertonÆs theory of anomie or strain was almost immediately embraced as a quintessentially sociological theory of crime that was capable of explaining such diverse issues as adult criminology and juvenile delinquency. Other theorist, including Albert K. Cohen, fo
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