Sociologists suggest numerous theories to explain the behavior identified as juvenile delinquency. Some of the theories explain one type of delinquent behavior better than other theories. As Siegel and Senna (1997) note, the various theories identify the source of the forces shaping delinquent behavior, whether the individual is the source, the social structure, a social process, or a social reaction. Shoplifting and illegal drug use occur with high frequency among young people today. The theory of differential association best explains both behaviors, while strain theory offers the least valuable assessment for both.
The crime of shoplifting sometimes exhibits compulsive behavior brought about by some psychological cause, but this can only explain certain instances of this behavior. Theories based on social distinctions and class differences also explain only some of this behavior, for perpetrators need not be poor to steal. Shoplifting as a crime transcends social boundaries and other evidence of social stratification. Some do steal because they are poor, of course, but much shoplifting occurs among juveniles who are not poor and not deprived. The most likely force operating in these instances is peer pressure, and peer pressure serve as a key component in differential association theory.
Edwin Sutherland developed differential association theory in 1939 in his text Principles of Criminology. He offered an interpersonal explanation of behavior based on three major assumptions: 1) human behavior is flexible; 2) learning occurs primarily in small, informal groups; and 3) the learning of behavior takes place through collective experiences as well as through specific situations. Differential association stands as a good formulation of the importance of peer pressure. Differential association represents a theory that explains the onset of delinquent behavior and points to the fact that juveniles learn delinquent beha...