Becoming Deviant

Becoming Deviant describes a process by which people move from an affinity for certain prohibited behaviors to full-blown deviance. This process includes affiliation with circles and settings that include or sponsor offenses, followed by understanding and identification of the offenses as prohibited behavior by the transgressor. The process can be summarized as affinity, affiliation, and signification. The sequential process Matza describes allows for non-recurrent offending behavior, recidivism, and offending again. His perspective is motivated by the view that criminological theories do not explain a number of the fundamental empirical features and nuances known to be associated with delinquency. This includes the frequent termination of delinquent behavior at the onset of adulthood, the often conformist nature of delinquent behavior, and the large numbers of non-delinquents that are often found in otherwise "high-delinquency areas." In Becoming Deviant Matza reasons that most, though not all, delinquent behavior constitutes relatively uniform phenomena that is developmental in character. Individuals proceed from trivial to more serious infractions. He argues that delinquent behavior represents youths searching for adventure and is accompanied by withdrawal from conventional values and associated behavior. Matza further claims that many delinquents are not fully committed to a delinquent lifestyle, and this explains why delinquent behavior often ends with adulthood. Matza's compelling and integrated theoretical explanation makes this a classic in the increasingly sophisticated criminological literature. Thomas Blomberg's new introduction shows why Becoming Deviant remains of central importance to the field.

Becoming Deviant describes a process by which people move from an affinity for certain prohibited behaviors to full-blown deviance. This process includes affiliation with circles and settings that include or sponsor offenses, followed by understanding and identification of the offenses as prohibited behavior by the transgressor. The process can be summarized as affinity, affiliation, and signification. The sequential process Matza describes allows for non-recurrent offending behavior, recidivism, and offending again. His perspective is motivated by the view that criminological theories do not explain a number of the fundamental empirical features and nuances known to be associated with delinquency. This includes the frequent termination of delinquent behavior at the onset of adulthood, the often conformist nature of delinquent behavior, and the large numbers of non-delinquents that are often found in otherwise high-delinquency areas. In Becoming Deviant Matza reasons that most, though not all, delinquent behavior constitutes relatively uniform phenomena that is developmental in character. Individuals proceed from trivial to more serious infractions. He argues that delinquent behavior represents youths searching for adventure and is accompanied by withdrawal from conventional values and associated behavior. Matza further claims that many delinquents are not fully committed to a delinquent lifestyle, and this explains why delinquent behavior often ends with adulthood. Matza's compelling and integrated theoretical explanation makes this a classic in the increasingly sophisticated criminological literature. Thomas Blomberg's new introduction shows why Becoming Deviant remains of central importance to the field.

Anorexia tends to be studied within health disciplines, such as medicine, psychoanalysis or psychology. When the condition is discussed in relation to society more broadly, focus is commonly restricted to considerations about the demise of the traditional family meal or the all-pervading obsession with thinness and media representations of ‘size zero’ models. But what can sociology tell us about anorexia and how a person becomes anorexic? This book draws on empirical research – both interviews and observation – conducted in and outside medical settings with anorexic girls, medical staff, teachers and other teenagers of the same age. As such, it offers the first fully sociological treatment of the condition, taking the reader closer to the actual experiences of people living with anorexia. It retraces the behaviours, practices and processes that create what is patterned as an anorexic ‘career’ and reveals the cultural and social characteristics of the people who engage on this path taking them from a simple diet to hospitalization or recovery. Richly illustrated with qualitative research, Becoming Anorexic: A Sociological Approach demonstrates that anorexia can be viewed as a very particular work of self-transformation, which requires specific – and social – ‘dispositions’. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology and anthropology with an interest in health and illness, the body, social class and gender.

This book, first published in 1973, explores the manner in which conceptions of deviancy arise and shows how the attitudes of non-deviants, of society and of authority, are as instrumental in forming these conceptions as the actions of the deviants themselves. Chapters include discussions on the definition of deviants and deviancy and the enforcement of the law, alongside a detailed introduction. This title will be of particular value to students and scholars with an interest in criminology and the sociology and psychology of deviancy.

A comprehensive set of readings examining the full range of concerns in the field of deviant behaviour. All the selections are relatively recent and have not appeared in other anthologies.

The sociology of deviance was in its heyday when Prentice-Hall published this book in 1969. John Lofland traces the field from pre-World War II to the late sixties and pioneers the application of "grounded theory" to the study of deviant behavior. In his new prologue, Joel Best writes, "More than thirty years after the book first appeared, we have no better synthesis of the labeling approach."

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The Handbook of Deviant Behavior presents a comprehensive, integrative, and accessible overview of the contemporary body of knowledge in the field of social deviance in the twenty-first century. This book addresses the full range of scholarly concerns within this area – including theoretical, methodological, and substantive issues – in over seventy original entries, written by an international mix of recognized scholars. Each of these essays provides insight not only into the historical and sociological evolution of the topic addressed, but also highlights associated notable thinkers, research findings, and key published works for further reference. As a whole, this Handbook undertakes an in depth evaluation of the contemporary state of knowledge within the area of social deviance, and beyond this considers future directions and concerns that will engage scholars in the decades ahead. The inclusion of comparative and cross-cultural examples and discussions, relevant case studies and other pedagogical features make this book an invaluable learning tool for undergraduate and post graduate students in disciplines such as criminology, mental health studies, criminal theory, and contemporary sociology.