Instructor Resource

Bates, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society, 2e

SAGE Publishing, 2018

Test Bank for Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society

2nd Edition Bates 1506347495 9781506347493
Full download link at:
Test bank: https://testbankpack.com/p/test-bank-for-juvenile-delinquency-in-a-diverse-
society-2nd-edition-bates-1506347495-9781506347493/

Chapter 5: Macro-Level Theories

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. The concept that factors outside the conscious control of individuals, chiefly the social
organization of society and/or the environment, influence, or determine behavior is
called _____.
a. anomie
b. determinism
c. choice
d. consensus
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 5-1: Explain why social structural theories of delinquency are
considered sociological positivist theories
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories of Delinquency
Difficulty Level: Easy

2. A deterministic or positivist position claims that factors mostly _________ social

organization of society and/or environmental influences determine delinquency.
a. inside the conscious control of individual’s
b. within the realm of choice of the individual’s
c. within individual members of a community’s
d. outside the conscious control of individual’s
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 5-1: Explain why social structural theories of delinquency are
considered sociological positivist theories
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories of Delinquency
Difficulty Level: Medium

3. What type of theories of delinquency focus on the social structure or the big picture of
society?
a. Micro-level
b. Macro-level
 Instructor Resource
Bates, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2018

c. Choice
d. Biosocial
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 5-1: Explain why social structural theories of delinquency are
considered sociological positivist theories
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories of Delinquency
Difficulty Level: Easy

4. A juvenile who wants a higher standard of living but cannot obtain it because of a lack
of opportunity, education, or social conditions may resort to criminality as a way to
improve themselves. This criminality can be explained using what type of theory or
approach?
a. Deterministic or positivist
b. Rational choice
c. Psychological
d. Biosocial
Ans: a
Learning Objective: 5-1: Explain why social structural theories of delinquency are
considered sociological positivist theories
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories of Delinquency
Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Which theory of delinquency posits that neighborhoods may become so disorganized

that delinquent behavior occurs as a result?
a. Choice
b. Anomie
c. Positivist
d. Social disorganization
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 5-1: Explain why social structural theories of delinquency are
considered sociological positivist theories
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories of Delinquency
Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Durkheim’s theory that proposes that rapid social change often results in a state of
normlessness that results in the deregulation of people and their behavior is called
______.
a. choice
b. positivism
c. anomie
d. social disorganization
Ans: c
 Instructor Resource
Bates, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2018

Learning Objective: 5-2: Distinguish between Durkheim’s and Merton’s versions of

anomie theory
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories of Delinquency
Difficulty Level: Easy

7. The premise of anomie is that society is based on _____________ and that most
community members share these.
a. mores
b. folkways
c. norms
d. laws
Ans: c
Learning Objective: 5-2: Distinguish between Durkheim’s and Merton’s versions of
anomie theory
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories of Delinquency
Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Durkheim was a _______ theorist who assumed that we all share a basic sense of
right or wrong and that laws and other rules reflect the values that we share.
a. conflict
b. consensus
c. micro-level
d. critical
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 5-2: Distinguish between Durkheim’s and Merton’s versions of
anomie theory
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Durkheim’s Anomie Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Merton claimed that social structures exert a definite pressure upon certain persons
in the society to engage in ______conduct, rather than _____conduct.
a. conformist, non-conformist
b. illegal, lawful
c. ethical, unethical
d. non-conformist, conformist
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 5-2: Distinguish between Durkheim’s and Merton’s versions of
anomie theory
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Merton’s Strain Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium
 Instructor Resource
Bates, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2018

10. Which of the following are NOT one of the five ways Merton stated that people can
adapt to strain?
a. Non-conformity
b. Conformity
c. Innovation
d. Ritualism
Ans: a
Learning Objective: 5-2: Distinguish between Durkheim’s and Merton’s versions of
anomie theory
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Merton’s Strain Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

11. A juvenile who abandons his or her goals as a result of strain but continues to go
through the process of what society expects him or her to do is said to be in _____.
a. innovation
b. rebellion
c. retreatism
d. ritualism
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 5-2: Distinguish between Durkheim’s and Merton’s versions of
anomie theory
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Merton’s Strain Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

12. _____ is a state of interdependence that social disorganization theorists state

characterizes the social world.
a. symbiosis
b. antagonism
c. separation
d. disunity
Ans: a
Learning Objective: 5-3: Outline the roots of social disorganization theories and their
fundamental assumptions
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Social Disorganization Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Which zone in the concentric zone model is the area immediately on the outskirts of
the downtown area where Park and Burgess stated that the most physical deterioration
could be seen and where the social problems of the city were most abundant?
a. Zone 1: CBD
b. Zone 2: Zone of transition
c. Zone 3: Multi-family housing
d. Zone 5: Commuter zone
 Instructor Resource
Bates, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2018

Ans: b
Learning Objective: 5-3: Outline the roots of social disorganization theories and their
fundamental assumptions
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Social Disorganization Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Shaw and McKay found that delinquency rates were the highest in which two
zones?
a. Zones 3 and 4
b. Zones 4 and 5
c. Zones 2 and 3
d. Zones 1 and 2
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 5-3: Outline the roots of social disorganization theories and their
fundamental assumptions
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Social Disorganization Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

15. According to Shaw and McKay’s research, a juvenile who is living in an area
deemed to be furthest away from the central business district is ________ to commit
delinquency because they are clean and well kept, and government as well as private
entities invest in those areas, than in other areas of the city.
a. less likely
b. more likely
c. just as likely
d. extremely likely
Ans: a
Learning Objective: 5-3: Outline the roots of social disorganization theories and their
fundamental assumptions
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Social Disorganization Theory
Difficulty Level: Hard

16. _____ is referred to as the means by which ordinary people exert control over
others’ behavior through enforcing traditions or norms and by informally punishing those
who break such norms through the use of gossip, stigmatization, and disapproval.
a. Formal social control
b. Informal social control
c. Anomie
d. Social disorganization
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 5-3: Outline the roots of social disorganization theories and their
fundamental assumptions
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
 Instructor Resource
Bates, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2018

Answer Location: Social Disorganization Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. ____ Americans do feel frustrated when they are unable to realize the promises of
the American dream.
a. Black
b. Asian
c. Native
d. White
Ans: d
Learning Objective: 5-4: Identify the primary ways social structural theories of
delinquency address race, gender, and class
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Anomie Theories and Race
Difficulty Level: Medium

18. Shaw and McKay noted that the ethnicity or race of people living in the central
business district and the zone of transition did not matter; rates of delinquency were
_____ than in the rest of the city there, and this was consistent over time.
a. lower
b. higher
c. about the same
d. extremely lower
Ans: b
Learning Objective: 5-4: Identify the primary ways social structural theories of
delinquency address race, gender, and class
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Social Disorganization Theories of Delinquency and Race, Class, and
Gender Intersections
Difficulty Level: Hard

19. To reduce strain among youth who have been institutionalized and released, ____
programs that teach formerly incarcerated youth skills are needed.
a. prevention
b. incarceration
c. reentry
d. life skills
Ans: c
Learning Objective: 5-5: Relate social structural theories of delinquency to possible
policy interventions
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories and Public Policy
Difficulty Level: Hard

20. A person who is interested in using policies and programs for change will want to
focus on making neighborhoods more organized would be cited under which theory?
 Instructor Resource
Bates, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2018

a. Social disorganization
b. Anomie
c. Collective efficacy
d. Choice
Ans: a
Learning Objective: 5-5: Relate social structural theories of delinquency to possible
policy interventions
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories and Public Policy
Difficulty Level: Hard

True/False
1. A consensus theorist is a theorist who assumes that society is based upon
consensus and that laws generally reflect agreed-upon societal expectations.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 5-1: Explain why social structural theories of delinquency are
considered sociological positivist theories
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories of Delinquency
Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Positivist theories are theories created by scholars using scientific methods (i.e.,
observation, measurement, and empirical verification).
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 5-1: Explain why social structural theories of delinquency are
considered sociological positivist theories
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories of Delinquency
Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Although he did not specifically address the delinquency of young people in his
scholarly work, the person who is credited with inspiring anomie theories of delinquency
is Robert Merton.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 5-2: Distinguish between Durkheim’s and Merton’s versions of
anomie theory
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Durkheim’s Anomie Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Merton’s idea of what happens when social norms of conventional success (i.e., the
American Dream) are not accompanied by equally strong or available legitimate means
of achieving that success is called Strain Theory.
Ans: T
 Instructor Resource
Bates, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2018

Learning Objective: 5-2: Distinguish between Durkheim’s and Merton’s versions of

anomie theory
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Merton’s Strain Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Homogeneity refers to the difference and diversity; in a neighborhood context and

often reduces informal social control.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 5-3: Outline the roots of social disorganization theories and their
fundamental assumptions
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Social Disorganization Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

6. The concentric zone model is a model used by social disorganization theorists in

which they map an urban area and measure the degree of social disorganization in
each.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 5-3: Outline the roots of social disorganization theories and their
fundamental assumptions
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Social Disorganization Theory
Difficulty Level: Easy

7. The impact of mass imprisonment is not disproportionately experienced by the

poorest communities of color in the United States today.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 5-4: Identify the primary ways social structural theories of
delinquency address race, gender, and class
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Social Disorganization Theory and Race
Difficulty Level: Medium

8. According to the text, objective poverty and perceptions on the part of youth that their
life chances were negatively affected by living in their neighborhood most strongly
predicted rates of juvenile delinquency.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 5-4: Identify the primary ways social structural theories of
delinquency address race, gender, and class
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Social Disorganization Theory and Class
Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Policies that take anomie theory insights into account would focus upon reentry as a
means of addressing the potential for delinquency.
 Instructor Resource
Bates, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2018

Ans: F
Learning Objective: 5-5: Relate social structural theories of delinquency to possible
policy interventions
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories and Public Policy
Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Policymaking based upon social disorganization and focused upon delinquency
prevention would provide youth with mentorship and activities outside their immediate
neighborhoods to expose them to the possibilities available in other areas in the future.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 5-5: Relate social structural theories of delinquency to possible
policy interventions
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories and Public Policy
Difficulty Level: Hard

Essay
1. Define and discuss why social structural theories are positivistic in nature.
Ans: The ideal answer will define what a social structural theory is and explain why they
are considered positivistic in nature. The ideal answer will include a brief discussion on
the forces beyond the control of the individual at the social structural level (macro).
Learning Objective: 5-1: Explain why social structural theories of delinquency are
considered sociological positivist theories
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories of Delinquency
Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Identify and describe Robert Merton’s idea of strain and the five ways that people
adapt to strain.
Ans: The ideal answer will include a definition of Merton’s anomie as opposed to
Durkheim’s. The ideal answer will also include a discussion and explanation of the five
levels of adaptation to the strain, as well as the implications of strain upon criminality.
Learning Objective: 5-2: Distinguish between Durkheim’s and Merton’s versions of
anomie theory
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension | Application
Answer Location: Anomie Theories
Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Compare and contrast Park and Burgess’ work with Shaw and McKay’s work with
regard to social disorganization.
 Instructor Resource
Bates, Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2018

Ans: The ideal answer will include an overview of the similarities and differences
between the two sets of researchers’ work, as well as a discussion of the five concentric
zones and the criminality associated with each place.
Learning Objective: 5-3: Outline the roots of social disorganization theories and their
fundamental assumptions
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Social Disorganization Theory
Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Discuss how social structural theories address race, gender, and class.
Ans: The ideal answer will describe at least two social structural theories as they pertain
to race, gender, and class and analyze them through that lens to describe why certain
races, genders, and classes are more or less likely to engage in criminality.
Learning Objective: 5-4: Identify the primary ways social structural theories of
delinquency address race, gender, and class
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension | Application | Analysis
Answer Location: Anomie Theories and Race | Anomie Theories and Gender | Anomie
Theories and Class | Social Disorganization Theories of Delinquency and Race, Class,
and Gender Intersections
Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Discuss how social structural theories can affect public policy.

Ans: The ideal answer will discuss how at least two social structural theories may be
related to and influence public policy on crime rate decreases in the United States. The
ideal answer will also mention prevention efforts and reentry.
Learning Objective: 5-5: Relate social structural theories of delinquency to possible
policy interventions
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Social Structural Theories and Public Policy
Difficulty Level: Medium