To understand any phenomenon, you must first discover its underlying causes to see all the possible reasons for that event. It is using this assumption that the following measure will be introduced, based specifically on Robert Merton's Strain Theory. Strain theory holds that an individual (of lower class status) is induced into delinquent behavior and gang membership when he or she lacks the legitimate means to acquire material goods characteristic of the middle class, and therefore chooses illegitimate means to do so. Merton points out that tension occurs when there is a barrier between cultural goals and the means of actually achieving them. Other contributors to deformation theory were Albert Cohen, Richard Cloward, and Lloyd Ohlin. These theorists highlighted that individuals are socialized to have high expectations, but are not afforded the conventional educational and professional opportunities to meet these expectations. Therefore, unconventional means of obtaining needs may appear more efficient and may manifest themselves in the form or...