Social stratification and delinquency. Forty years of sociological discrepancy

Abstract

Sociologists studying delinquency for a long time considered social class to be a solid and undisputed cornerstone on which to base their studies of deviant behaviour. A series of theories originating from the 1950´s and which were widely accepted over the following thirty years, led to the establishment of this theoretical framework. However, despite its widespread acceptance on a theoretical level, this framework lacked support on an empirical one. When researchers began to question statistical data from the police and the courts and decided to use their own studies instead, they came headlong up against an unsuspected truth. A new reality emerged. Now it was necessary to question whether the relationship between social class and delinquency was in reality only a myth based on prejudices which consisted of considering one social class to be more dangerous, resulting in their being more likely to be arrested, brought to court and imprisoned. This gave rise to a prolonged debate based on two conflicting hypotheses: “It´s not important to study social class as it has no effect on delinquency” as opposed to “social class has a negative correlation with delinquency: the lower the social class, the greater the incidence of crimes.