Deviant behavior: definition and main forms
In 1897, the French sociologist Emil Durkheim published a job as a suicide based on suicide statistics in several European countries. In this work, the scientist nominated the assumption that suicide is nothing more than a product of people's interaction. One of the factors of suicidal risk Durkheim called "Anomy" - the state of a person who has become a victim of destroying public norms. In about the then, the study of the "deviating" behavior began under the individual section of sociology - Deviantology.
What is deviant behavior?
Deviant behavior is considered not only in sociology, but in medicine, criminology and psychology. In sociology, it also has the second name - social deviation. The concept is inextricably linked with the definition of the social norm, which is usually implied by the degree of people permissible in the actions, which helps the social system is in equilibrium.
Deviant behavior is most often called sustainable forms of deviation of the individual from traditional social norms, which represents a real danger for both the individual himself and for public well-being. Accordingly, the deviant is a carrier of deviation, a person who certainly violates the generally accepted foundations. Such phenomena are most often accompanied by the social disadaptation of the person.
Basic signs:
- acts of a person cause a clear negative assessment by the surrounding;
- harm to the individual and the surrounding people;
- manifestations are sustained.
Forms and examples of deviationations
There are many classifications of deviant behavior. One version was proposed by the American sociologist Robert Merton. He highlighted 4 possible types of deviations:
- innovation when the girl agrees with the goals of society, but denies the main ways to achieve them (for example, theft or creation of "financial pyramids");
- ritualism is the opposite phenomenon that consists in the exaggeration of the method of achieving the goal and the lack of attention to the goal itself;
- retretism is a refusal of socially appreciated scenarios and ways to implement them (for example, addictive addiction or vagrancy);
- riot - the denial of generally accepted goals and methods and attempt to replace them with others (the revolutionaries can be conditionally related to this group).
Hungarian sociologist Ferrenz Pataki to traditional types of deviations attributed criminal activity, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide. It was also allocated also a special "intense syndrome", which is a complex of certain identity qualities, the totality of which most often leads to sustainable forms of deviant behavior. Among them:
- affective type of personality;
- an increased level of aggression;
- unfavorable relations in the family;
- cases of antisocial actions at an early age;
- negative attitude to study;
- the level of intelligence is below average.
The above-mentioned forms of deviations are standard and other: kleptomania, sexual and nutritional disorders, terrorism, prostitution, homosexuality, etc.
It is worth noting that some researchers allocated not only destructive types of deviant behavior, but also social and neutral and even structural forms. For example, Yu.A. Cleberg to neutral attributed begging, to positive - social creativity. N.V. Mysac also assigns some forms of creativity to constructive deviations, and some forms of behavior - to socially approved (mainly within a certain group of people). Positive deviations include genius, innovation, asceticism, heroic actions, etc.
Causes and prevention
Initially, the deviations of the reasons were trying to associate with the genetic predisposition, the peculiarities of the physiology and the psyche of the individual (for example, mental retardation). Later, although physiological and psychological prerequisites have not been rejected completely, scientists have concluded that the deviations are correctly considered due to public phenomena. In particular, the founder of Deviantology Durkheim believed that the main cause of deviations are the social crises and arising in connection with them anomios, which encourages a person or use illegal means to carry out goals, or choose the "escape from reality", or raise a riot against the community of society.
Deviant behavior is often observed in adolescents, since this group is the most unstable. For transitional age, an accentuation is characterized by a minor deviation from the norms associated with a certain feature, which, with an unfavorable coating, it can be the basis for deviant behavior. That is why the main preventive measures to prevent deviations are related to the upbringing of children and adolescents, care for their material well-being and leisure.
