D E P R E S SION

Social Control Theory

 USCP
November 5, 2022
DEPRESSION
Social
Control
Theory
Explain the nature and implications of the given act/behavior to society, group, and community.
Depression can be explained as an example of deviance from social norms wherein an
individual feels higher levels of pessimism, irritability, and anxiety compared to those
Group
visible to their peers. This can be seen as a form of deviance where an individual is
likely to behave poorly due to the symptoms caused by depression that causes them to
not properly adhere to or perform the social norms expected by those in their vicinity.
Thus, it is highly likely that due to the involvement of the pandemic, depression cases have increased and can
be proven by means of Social Control Theory. This theory states that deviance is caused due to a lack of strong
social bonds as the individual feels no sense of belongingness and is, therefore, less likely to adhere to societal
norms. This theory also explains a potential increase in egoistic suicide as well due to it also stemming from a
lack of connection and belongingness with society.
The implications of this in a group level society is the inability of an individual to properly attend to the closer
connections they have formed and thus risks the possibility of losing those connections that leads to further
isolation.
Community
Due to the pandemic causing a lockdown people are no longer able to
gather, people who look forward to community gatherings are now having
to wait on hold for months even years, and communities breaking apart
because they no longer can do the activities they used to do causing them to grow more distant, people who
are used to always being within a community now just feel hopeless and lonely, not being able to reach out to
their fellow friends and colleague to go grab a drink and talk about the things that bother them, the isolation
and bottled up emotion only builds up every day causing some people to fall in a state of depression
GROUP 5
Society
The world stopped functioning when the mandatory lockdown was announced, which
led everyone to be isolated in their homes. Because of this social interaction became
limited causing undeniable stress to people. Everyday life turns into a loop
that causes unproductiveness and leaves no room for improvement. Because of this hopelessness can be felt
and worsened the mental stability of everyone. This shows the form of deviance wherein mental health had
never been more important for society.
The fact that the pandemic made it impossible to have social interactions proves Social Control Theory. The
theory explained how deviance affects the social relations within the community because the individual feels
isolated from his community and this allows him to deviate from the social norms.This is because of the
sudden change with social interaction that turned into isolation after the pandemic occurred. Especially since
it increased the possibility of egoistic suicide within everyone.
Response of the group or society
Amidst the pandemic, society lost social bonds and interaction with other
people, which causes mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and
fear. People lived in hopeless and bleak hurdles, which led to an increased rate
of depression and stress. The world is experiencing a global pandemic; thus,
the main focus of everyone is to eliminate the virus; therefore, the problems
concerning mental health receive less attention. However, According to
Merton’s Anomie Theory of Deviance, people should accept the implication of
lockdowns and their adjustment since its objective is to cease the virus and
health crisis occurring. Without these necessary lockdowns and other
limitations, humanity will suffer from the contagious disease.