Final essay

Posted by sabinasnow on March 31st, 2021

Drug and alcohol abuse has become an urgent and essential problem for many countries nowadays. Social theory has different perspectives on these issues, but Durkheims functionalist framework can be regarded as one of the most applicable. Therefore, structural functionalist theory and the concept of anomie can be used to analyze the underlying causes of deviant behavior and its contribution to the society functioning.

Durkheim's Functionalist Perspective

The functionalist perspective considers deviant behavior, which drug and alcohol abuse belong to, as the demeanor that contributes to the existence of the generally stable society that evolves over time. Durkheim considers deviant behavior as a sign of a normally functioning social structure . According to Durkheim's theory, there are at least four positive contributions of deviant behavior patterns to social functioning. Firstly, they consolidate cultural norms and social values. People tend to unite in condemning and reprimanding drug addicts or alcohol abusers, since their behavior violates the norms and beliefs that exist in the modern society. Secondly, the assumption of benefits of deviance is based on the concept of unity and struggle of opposites, which implies that any notion or thing exists in two contradictory forms. Therefore, the social order and deviant behavior can be regarded as the two conditions of the unity of opposites. Thirdly, the boundaries for moral and immoral behavior are set by the deviant behavioral patterns. The greater deviance is present and tolerated in the society, the more moral boundaries are extended and allow for the intensification of the problem . Lastly, the changes initiated by the society in opposition to the shift of moral horizons cause social transformation. For instance, excessive drug or alcohol abuse may shape the network of drug dealers who attempt to disrupt the moral boundaries of citizens, especially youth, who represent the most vulnerable group in this relation. When the citizens oppose this situation by initiating a movement or passing corresponding laws, major social transformation takes place. Hence, the role of deviance is significant for the development of a society from the structural functionalist point of view.

Strain Theory in Application to Deviance in the Society

Additionally, the opposition between order and deviance in a society can further be advanced by strain theory. Strain theory posits that members of a society can feel considerable pressure put by social norms and values . This pressure makes them get involved into a deviant behavior. In the framework suggested by Durkheim and his followers, this inappropriate behavior implies crime commitment . With this in mind, drug consumption and alcohol abuse can be labeled as a criminal group of divergence from social norms. To explain these types of deviant behavior, Durkheim's theory provides the concept of anomie that reduces the presence of norms in the society and gives citizens more freedom in making moral choices. A state of anomie provides that citizens are expected to perform and make choices freely in the society that undergoes structural transformations in social and economic terms . The shift in social norms and values leaves time before the establishment of the new social order, when people can pursue their individual desires as the liberation from oppression. Therefore, the social transformation induces criminal and deviant behavior, which is highly unwelcome in the society with strict order that is established when social norms and values eventually comply. By undermining social values and norms, citizens experience the extension of moral boundaries, and drug and alcohol abuse can be said to increase.

Furthermore, Merton elaborates on Durkheim's theory with a particular emphasis on the anomie concept. He suggests that social values do not comply with social norms in the state of anomie. The theorist also argues that deviance can be explained through the striving of an individual to meet social expectations that are represented by values, using social norms as a measure for his or her behavior. Merton identifies the discrepancy between the goals and the means (social norms) as the driving force behind the processes of social unrest. Thus, when the society has no sufficient methods to ensure that people can use social norms to achieve socially encouraged goals in a socially acceptable way, frustration and strain appear among people . The citizens start realizing the discrepancy between values and norms and change their compliance to social norms to a behavior that is more convenient to them in terms of achieving their goals . In application to drug and alcohol abuse, the theory can be regarded as follows: people experience pressing attitudes of social expectations, and if they fail to meet these expectations, they accept deviant behavior as the form of a response.

Since social theories explain the structuring and evolution of societies, the shift from the simplest social form to more complex communities also contributes to the growth of deviant behavior among citizens. This deviant behavior, in turn, includes drug and alcohol abuse. According to Pridemore, Chamlin, and Cochran , the possibility of the loss of cohesion in the society happens when social systems mature, thus leading to higher incidence of deviant behavior. On the contrary, rapid social transformations do not provide sufficient time for the social structure and citizens to adapt.

Consequently, drug and alcohol abuse represents an urgent social challenge that can both originate from transformations of social structure or influence them. This research used Durkheims functionalist perspective and Mertons strain and anomie theory to elaborate on the issue of increased drug and alcohol consumption, which is urgent in many contemporary societies. According to them, the functioning of society relies upon the deviant behavior of some citizens, which provides the opposition to the established social order.

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