Types of deviant behavior include: Reasons for deviant behavior

Our world is structured in such a way that everyone is used to living by some rules. These rules must be approved by the majority, that is, society. But often the system fails, and the person behaves differently than people expect. Experts have coined the term deviant behavior. What it is is described in detail in various psychological reference books and other literature related to raising adolescents.

What is deviant behavior?

Deviant or abnormal behavior implies that a person did something differently than other people expected. That is, he committed an act that does not correspond to the standards established by the system. This can be either a single manifestation or constant behavior.

This concept is very often associated with teenage manifestations. Deviant behavior of adolescents is most often a kind of protest against education, school rules. It can be expressed in different ways.

The discrepancy can be either positive or negative. The first includes any innovative actions related to creativity that are aimed at the development of society. Negative deviant behavior contributes to the destruction of the usual way of life, disorientation and distortion of the system.

Deviant behavior is often compared to an individual's choice. If his needs do not coincide with the established norms of society, he acts as he sees fit, even if this contradicts the expectations of others. An example is robbery: when a person wants easy money, and work is a long and tedious path to wealth, he may resort to robbery or other fraud. In a more global sense, it could also be corruption.

Where does this come from?

The causes of deviant behavior depend on many factors. Most often, deviations in adolescents arise due to misunderstandings with family members or at school with peers.

The development of abnormal behavior can be influenced by poor upbringing or poor quality living conditions, due to which the child develops a feeling of inferiority. Therefore, deviant behavior can be correlated with a psychological barrier.

For many teenagers, the cause of deviant behavior can be an incomplete family. Deviant behavior can also arise due to character disorders.

Running away from home to avoid punishment are typical examples of deviant behavior. As a rule, in this case, running away is a kind of protest against any norms that parents are trying to instill in their child. A little later, this may become a habit for a teenager, and he will repeat it again and again, but reflexively, as a weapon against “thorny gloves.”

But there are other aspects that can provoke abnormal behavior in a teenager: lack of attention from parents. In this situation, an unusual act will be done in order to get the missing attention. Deviations can also appear if a teenager is treated aggressively at school due to some characteristics. This can be provoked by the environment, for example, a child becomes involved in some subculture or group.

The problem of deviant behavior can also arise due to excessive attention from adults and the desire to avoid supervision. This can be dangerous if a teenager starts using alcohol or drugs as a protest. The situation is doubly aggravated, because in this case the child succumbs to the influence of bad company. And for him these people are “friends”.

Signs of deviant behavior in adolescents include actions that most often cause a negative assessment from society due to the fact that such behavior does not meet the requirements of the system and the expectations of society. The characteristics of deviant behavior are very easy to confuse with manifestations of a creative nature or an eccentric personality. Therefore, it is important to be a very subtle psychologist before making a specific diagnosis.

Types, types and forms of deviant behavior

There are several classifications of deviant behavior.

There are two main types of deviant behavior. One of them includes abnormal behavior associated with mental disorders in humans. That is, a person is sick and needs the help of a specialist. Such deviations can be hidden or obvious.

Another type of deviant behavior is associated with a violation of moral standards that society has officially accepted.

Another classification identifies the following types of deviant behavior:

Hyperkinetic disorder, which involves a person's predisposition to being unable to concentrate on a particular task due to its complexity or reluctance to engage in thought processes. As a result, a person takes on several tasks and does not complete a single one. This type abnormal behavior becomes the cause of disagreements between a teenager and adults due to the inability to maintain subordination. The child may develop a feeling of low self-esteem, as well as aggression towards the world around him. In the family, children with this type of behavior behave protestingly and aggressively. They also tend to get into accidents due to recklessness and impulsiveness.
Unsocialization disorder is characterized by the fact that the teenager behaves aggressively among his peers. He is also characterized by frequent solitude and isolation from society. Adolescents with a similar disorder have an aggressive and deliberately rejecting attitude towards adults, due to the fact that adults are authoritative figures for adolescents. Adolescents with unsocialization disorder are characterized by unstable emotional state, irritability and mood swings.

Forms of deviant behavior distinguish socialized disorders. It implies aggression, which manifests itself in the form of running away from home, arguing with adults, mistrust and deceit. Such teenagers often end up in antisocial companies whose actions contradict socially established norms. In general, the concept of deviant behavior is relative; each individual manifests himself differently in a given situation, so it is quite difficult to determine the signs and specific types of deviant behavior. It is important to understand that deviant behavior in adolescents is not the result of their guilt, but rather a mental disorder. It may be accompanied by depression, self-blame and mental suffering.

Deviant behavior in adolescents and children

In non-scientific language, forms of deviant behavior include almost all actions of people that contradict social norms: alcoholism, drug use, suicidal behavior, hooliganism, criminal acts, prostitution.

People do things like this for some reason psychological trauma, social inequality. They need psychological help, while the majority does not accept and condemns such individuals, which further aggravates the situation and forces him to hide in his “shell.” The psychology of deviant behavior is so complex and unstudied that it is quite difficult to choose any methods of rehabilitation and correction of the situation. One thing is clear that each person needs a special approach, because the formation of personality takes place differently for everyone, in different conditions and surrounded by different people.

Working with deviant behavior in adolescents includes many aspects. First you need to find out the reasons for this manifestation of yourself. It is necessary to reach a level of trust with the child so that he can openly tell the psychologist about his family and friends, and preferences. This information will already give some results and point to the right decision. Correction of deviant behavior, first of all, is aimed at ensuring that a person, a teenager, feels confident in society and does not consider himself different from everyone else, “flawed”, worse than others. This is very thin ground, because specialists are adults who are a priori enemies for delinquent teenagers.

Under no circumstances should a person with deviant behavior be suppressed in his desires and preferences. Rather, you need to show that you are interested in his hobbies and want to share the joy of them with him. It is important to show your teenager that he is not alone and that his experiences are important to you.

It is important to remember that adolescence is the time when a personality is formed, its main backbone, on which further individuality and character traits will be laid. Based on this, this person’s place in the world will be determined, no matter how loud and banal it may sound.

In order to correct such behavior in adolescents, they take different measures. Even institutions for teenagers with mental disorders are being created. A deviant type school can be either open or closed type. The disadvantage of such institutions is that the child or teenager is constantly among peers with the same abnormal behavior. From a psychological point of view, this is wrong, although only specially trained teachers and subtle psychologists work with children in schools of deviant behavior. And the training is aimed at cultural education and the development of creative skills in the child.

Be that as it may, there is a lot of information and versions about deviations in adolescents, but despite this, it is important to understand that every child is a blank slate on which you can write anything you want. The fate of such teenagers is in the hands of society and the people who care about them.

In 1897, French sociologist Emile Durkheim published a work entitled “Suicide,” based on suicide statistics in several European countries. In this work, the scientist suggested that suicide is nothing more than a product of human interaction. Durkheim called “anomie” – the state of a person who has become a victim of the destruction of social norms – one of the suicidal risk factors. Around that time, the study of “deviant” behavior began within the framework of a separate 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 a second name - social deviation. The concept is inextricably linked with the definition of a social norm, which usually means the degree of permissibility in people’s actions, which helps the social system to be in balance.

Deviant behavior most often refers to stable forms of an individual’s deviation from traditional social norms, which poses a real danger both to the individual himself and to public well-being. Accordingly, a deviant is a carrier of deviation, a person who in a certain way violates generally accepted principles. Such phenomena are most often accompanied by social maladjustment of the individual.

Main features:

a person’s actions cause an unambiguously negative assessment from others;
harm is caused to the individual himself and the people around him;
manifestations are persistent.

Forms and examples of deviations

There are many classifications of deviant behavior. One version was proposed by the American sociologist Robert Merton. He identified 4 possible types of deviations:

innovation, when the deviant agrees with the goals of society, but denies the main ways to achieve them (for example, theft or the creation of “financial pyramids”);
ritualism is the opposite phenomenon, which consists in exaggerating the method of achieving a goal and lack of attention to the goal itself;
retreatism - refusal of socially approved scenarios and methods of their implementation (for example, addictive habits or vagrancy);
rebellion is the denial of generally accepted goals and methods and an attempt to replace them with others (revolutionaries can be conditionally included in this group).

The Hungarian sociologist Ferenc Pataky considered criminal activity, alcoholism, drug addiction, and suicide to be traditional types of deviations. He also identified a special “pre-deviant syndrome”, which is a complex of certain personality traits, the combination of which most often leads to stable forms of deviant behavior. Among them:

affective personality type;
increased level of aggression;
dysfunctional family relationships;
incidence of antisocial behavior at an early age;
negative attitude towards learning;
IQ level is below average.

The above forms of deviations usually include others: kleptomania, sexual and eating disorders, terrorism, prostitution, homosexuality, etc.

It is worth noting that some researchers have identified not only destructive types of deviant behavior, but also socially neutral and even constructive forms. For example, Yu.A. Clayburgh classified begging as neutral and social creativity as positive. N.V. Maisak also classifies some forms of creativity as constructive deviations, and some forms of behavior as socially approved (mainly within a certain group of people). Positive deviations include genius, innovation, asceticism, heroic deeds, etc.

Causes and prevention

Initially, they tried to associate the causes of deviations with genetic predisposition, physiological and mental characteristics of the individual (for example, mental retardation). Later, although physiological and psychological preconditions and were not completely rejected, scientists came to the conclusion that deviations are best viewed in connection with social phenomena. In particular, the founder of deviantology, Durkheim, believed that main reason deviations are social crises and the anomie that arises in connection with them, which prompts a person to either use illegal means to achieve goals, or choose an “escape from reality,” or rebel against the foundations of society.

Deviant behavior is often observed in adolescents, since this group is the most unstable. Adolescence is characterized by accentuation - a slight deviation from the norm associated with a certain personality trait, which, under unfavorable circumstances, can become the basis for deviant behavior. That is why the main preventive measures to prevent deviations are related to the upbringing of children and adolescents, concern for their material well-being and leisure.

Deviant behavior is defined as behavior that deviates from generally accepted, established norms. It can be both positive and negative. In the second case, the individual risks facing formal and informal sanctions from society. As a social phenomenon, deviance is studied by sociologists, and psychologists deal with issues of individual deviation. Today we will get acquainted with the main aspects and types of deviant behavior.

Historical reference

Deviant behavior has been one of the central issues of sociology since its inception. One of the founders of deviantology is the French scientist Emile Durkheim, who in 1897 published a classic work called “Suicide.” He introduced the concept of anomie, meaning social confusion and disorientation in society that occurs during times of radical social change and crisis. Durkheim supported his words with statistics showing an increase in the number of suicides during sharp economic downturns or booms. The scientist was followed by the American Robert King Merton, who created the theory of structural functionalism and was one of the first to classify human behavioral reactions from the point of view of sociology.

general characteristics

Human behavior is formed as a reaction to a combination of several factors: the social environment, a specific situation and one’s own personality. The easiest way to describe the conformity of human behavior to generally accepted norms is to use concepts such as “normal” and “abnormal” behavior. “Normal” can be called behavior that fully meets the expectations of others. It also illustrates mental health person. Therefore, "abnormal" behavior deviates from generally accepted norms and may be an illustration mental illness.

Abnormal behavioral responses come in many forms. Thus, behavior can be: pathological, delinquent, retreatant, non-standard, creative, deviant, deviant and marginal. The norm is determined on the basis of criteria that can be negative and positive. In the first case, the norm is considered as the absence of signs of pathology, and in the second - as the presence of “healthy” symptoms.

From point of view social psychology Antisocial behavior is a way of behaving in a certain way without regard to social norms. This formulation connects deviation with the process of adaptation to society. Thus, deviation among adolescents usually comes down to forms of unsuccessful or incomplete adaptation.

Sociologists use a slightly different definition. They consider a symptom normal if it is more than 50 percent prevalent in the community. Thus, normal behavioral reactions are those that are characteristic of most people. Consequently, deviant behavior manifests itself in a limited circle of people.

From a medical point of view, deviant behavior does not refer to either medical terms or forms of pathology. Its structure includes mental disorders, reactions to situations, developmental disorders and character accentuations. However, not every mental disorder is accompanied by abnormal symptoms.

Psychology and pedagogy define deviant behavior as a method of action that causes harm to an individual and complicates its development and self-realization. In children, this method of response has age restrictions, and the concept itself applies to children over 7 years old. The thing is, baby younger age cannot fully understand and control their actions and reactions.

Based on various approaches, a general definition of deviance can be formulated. So, deviance is a confident way of acting that deviates from social standards, causes harm to the individual and is marked by social maladjustment.

Typology

The types and forms of deviant behavior are so extensive that deviation is often intertwined with a number of other terms: asocial, delinquent, antisocial, maladaptive, inadequate, accentuated, self-destructive and psychopathic behavior. It can also be synonymous with such a concept as behavioral pathology.

There are many approaches to the classification of deviation, which differ from each other both in content and complexity. Differences in typology are caused by the fact that different sciences (psychology, sociology, criminology, pedagogy and others) and scientific schools define deviant behavior and distinguish deviation from the norm in their own way. We will introduce you to the most famous classifications.

Types of deviant behavior according to Merton

Within the framework of the theory of structural functionalism, R. C. Merton was one of the first sociologists to classify human behavioral reactions (1938). In his model, he presented 5 ways for an individual to adapt to the conditions created by society. Each of the methods characterizes a person’s approval of the goals of society and the means by which it plans to achieve these goals, or disapproval. Some of the reactions described are, in fact, types of deviant behavior:

Subordination. Acceptance of the goals of society and the means to achieve them.
Innovation. Acceptance of goals, but not the means to achieve them.
Ritualism. The goal is recognized as unattainable, but tradition continues to be followed.
Retreatism. Leaving society, complete rejection of its goals and means.
Mutiny. An attempt to change the social order, to introduce one’s own goals and means.

Kovalev classification

V.V. Kovalev identified three types of deviant behavior in his classification (1981):

Socio-psychological(antisocial, anti-disciplinary, illegal and auto-aggressive behavior).
Clinical-psychological(pathological and non-pathological behavior). Behavior caused pathological changes character that was formed in the process of upbringing is called a pathocharacterological type of deviant behavior.
Personal-dynamic(“reactions”, “developments” and “states”).

Pataki typology

F. Pataki in his 1987 classification identifies:

Deviation core(persistent forms): alcoholism, crime, drug addiction, suicide.
"Pre-deviant syndrome"- a set of symptoms that lead a person to persistent forms of deviation (family conflicts, affective type of behavior, aggressive type of behavior, early antisocial forms of behavior, low level intelligence, negative attitude towards learning).

Classification of Korolenko and Donskikh

In 1990, Ts. P. Korolenko and T. A. Donskikh identified the following types and types of deviant behavior:

Unusual behavior. It includes actions that do not fit into the framework of social stereotypes of behavior, but play a positive role in the process of development of society.
Destructive behavior. Divided into externally destructive (involves a violation of social norms); addictive (an addictive type of deviant behavior involves the use of specific activities or any substances in order to obtain the desired emotions and escape from reality); antisocial (accompanied by violation of laws and rights of other people); intra-destructive (aimed at the disintegration of the personality itself).

Ivanov classification

In 1995, V.N. Ivanov, from the point of view of danger to society and the person himself, identified the following types of deviant behavior:

Pre-criminogenic- minor offenses, violation of rules and moral standards, alcohol and drug use and other forms of behavior that do not pose a serious threat to society.
Criminal- criminal, criminally punishable actions.

Clayburgh's typology

Yu. A. Kleiberg in 2001 identified three main types of deviant behavior:

Negative(for example, using narcotic substances).
Positive(for example, social creativity).
Socially neutral(for example, begging).

Generalization by E. V. Zmanovskaya

In 2009, E.V. Zmanovskaya, summarizing various typologies of behavioral deviations, identified the type of violated norm as the main classification criterion and Negative consequences deviant behavior. In her personal classification, she chose three deviations:

Antisocial (delinquent). The delinquent type of deviant behavior involves actions that threaten social order and the well-being of others.
Asocial (immoral). Involves deviation from moral standards, which jeopardizes the well-being of interpersonal relationships.
Autodestructive (self-destructive). This type includes suicidal, autistic, fanatical, victimized and risky behavior, food and chemical addictions, etc.

Signs of deviation

The main signs of any behavioral deviations are: regular violation of social norms and negative assessment from society, which is usually accompanied by stigmatization (stigmatization, social labeling).

Deviation from social standards is an action that does not comply with the rules, laws and regulations recognized in society. It is worth considering that social norms change over time. Case in point is the constantly changing attitude of society towards representatives of non-traditional sexual orientations.

Social censure and significant stigma always accompany those who exhibit behavioral deviations. Here the critics are armed with well-known labels: “alcoholic”, “prostitute”, “bandit”, “prisoner” and others.

However, for quick diagnostics and competent correction of behavioral deviations, two characteristics are not enough. To recognize certain types and forms of deviant behavior, you need to remember a number of secondary signs:

Destructiveness. Characterized by the ability to cause significant damage to others or to oneself. Deviant behavior in all cases is destructive. Depending on its form, it acts destructively or self-destructively.
Repeated actions. A person can, without wanting to, commit one offense under the influence of any external factors. But if this offense is repeated, then deviation occurs. Thus, a child’s regular theft of money from their parents’ pockets is deviant behavior, while an attempted suicide is not. One of the important signs of deviation is its gradual formation, when small destructive actions turn into more destructive ones.
Medical standards. Deviations are always considered from the point of view of clinical norms. With mental disorders, we are talking about pathological behavioral reactions of a person, and not about deviant ones. Nevertheless, deviant behavior often develops into pathology. So, for example, everyday drunkenness can develop into alcoholism.
Disadaptation in society. Human behavior that deviates from the norm always causes or aggravates the state of social maladjustment. And vice versa - the more approval a person receives from society, the better he feels in society.
Pronounced gender and age diversity. Different types and types of deviant behavior manifest themselves in their own way in people of different genders and ages.

Negative and positive deviations

Social deviation can be both negative and positive. In the second case, it helps personal development and social progress. Examples of positive deviation are giftedness, social activity aimed at improving society, and much more. Negative deviation makes a negative contribution to the existence and development of society (vagrancy, suicide, deviant behavior of adolescents, etc.).

In general, deviant behavior can manifest itself in a wide range of social phenomena, therefore the criteria for its negativity or positivity, as a rule, are subjective. The same type of deviation can receive both positive and negative assessments from people with different system values.

Reasons for deviations

There are many concepts of deviance, ranging from biogenetic to cultural and historical. One of the main reasons for social deviation is the inconsistency of social norms with the requirements that life puts forward. The second common reason is the discrepancy between life itself and the ideas and interests of a particular individual. In addition, deviant behavior can be caused by factors such as family problems, upbringing errors, heredity, character deformation, mental illness, negative influence of the media and much more.

Deviance and delinquency

Depending on which science considers the concept of deviance, it can take on different colors. Pathological variants of deviant behavior include crimes, suicides, all forms of drug addiction and sexual deviation, mental disorders, etc. Sometimes antisocial action is interpreted as violating social norms, deviating from standards and pursuing one's goals in an illegal way. Often, such a concept as “deviant behavior” includes manifestations various violations social regulation of behavior and defective self-regulation. That is why deviant behavior is often equated with delinquent behavior.

Deviant behavior refers to actions or a system of actions that are completely inconsistent with the moral and legal norms of society. Meanwhile, delinquent behavior is a psychological tendency to commit crimes. That is why it is also called criminal.

No matter how much the types of deviant behavior and their characteristics differ, they are always interconnected. Many crimes are the result of lesser immoral acts. Thus, an individual’s involvement in one or another type of deviation increases the likelihood of delinquent actions on his part. Delinquent behavior differs from deviant behavior in that it is not so closely related to a violation of mental norms. For society, delinquents are, of course, much more dangerous than deviants.

Preventive and therapeutic measures

Since behavioral deviation is one of the most persistent phenomena, its prevention is always relevant. It represents a whole complex of all kinds of activities.

The following types of deviance prevention are distinguished:

Primary prevention. It involves eliminating negative factors and increasing the individual’s resistance to their influence. Primary prevention is aimed mainly at preventing various types of deviant behavior in children and adolescents.
Secondary prevention. Involves identifying and correcting negative conditions and factors that can cause deviant behavior. This type of prevention is used mainly in working with groups of adolescents and children who live in difficult conditions.
Late prevention. Aimed at solving highly specialized problems, preventing relapses and leveling harmful consequences already formed deviation. Involves active influence on a narrow circle of people with persistent behavioral deviations.

Overall, the plan preventive measures consists of the following components:

Work in clinics and hospitals.
Prevention in schools and universities.
Working with dysfunctional families.
Prevention through all kinds of media.
Organization of active youth groups.
Working with street children.
Training of qualified personnel for high-quality prevention.

Psychoprophylactic measures are effective in the initial stages of deviation formation. They are aimed mainly at combating various types deviant behavior of adolescents and young people, since it is precisely these periods of personality development that imply active socialization.

Therapy and correction of advanced deviation is carried out by psychiatrists and psychotherapists on an outpatient or inpatient basis. There are open and closed institutions for children and adolescents with severe deviations. Deviant behavior in its initial stages is eradicated through prevention in open institutions. They provide children and adolescents with all the necessary types of medical, psychological and educational assistance. Children and adolescents with advanced deviations who require a more careful approach are placed in closed institutions. Deviant behavior of adults is punishable by law.

Conclusion

Having become acquainted with the concept and types of deviant behavior, we can conclude that this phenomenon is well known not only to psychiatrists, but to lawyers, psychologists, teachers, criminologists and doctors. It includes a wide variety of forms of actions not approved by society, ranging from smoking to vagrancy. In most cases, such behavior is not a disease, but a way of external manifestation of individual personality characteristics. Types of deviant behavior include not only negative, but also positive changes in behavior that lead to development. Proof of this is the fact that the lifestyle of most of the great scientists was unacceptable to the general public.

The concept of deviant behavior is considered at the intersection of sciences. Deviatio is Latin for “deviation.” Thus, this concept characterizes deviant behavior, as a result or in the process of which the norms of culture and society are violated.

At first glance, the question “Is deviant behavior good or evil?” has a clear answer: evil. But are geniuses, creators, and religious figures the norm? No, and their behavior can also often be characterized as deviant, which is usually revealed when studying them, in surveys. Ya. I. Gilinsky, who made a significant contribution to the study of deviance, supports the point of view that there is positive meaning deviant behavior for society - increasing the level of organization of the system, eliminating outdated standards.

In order not to get lost in terms, we use a more or less acceptable definition, which limits the concept so much that it prevents its expansion to all deviations from the norm, but also does not narrow it to pathologies. Deviant behavior is behavior deviating from the norms of society by an individual or a group, which can interfere with satisfaction in life or cause difficulties in performing necessary tasks for the individual or other people, and therefore is condemned or even persecuted in order to change or eradicate.

Social factors

Theories of deviant behavior attempt to clarify what behavior can be called deviant and why people engage in it. The sociological approach examines the influence of society on the dynamics of deviant behavior. The most famous sociological theories:

1. Structural theory of deformation

The cause of deviant behavior is the tension between cultural goals and the lack of means available to achieve these goals.

2. The theory of labels, stigma

Deviant behavior is a product of social control, since deviation is not in the action itself, but only in the reaction to it.

Labeling a “deviant” leads to further repetition and dissemination as a response to the reaction of society, that is, a person begins to define himself as a deviant and act within the boundaries of this role. E. Lemert coined the term “secondary deviance,” which reflects this process.

In order to avoid the problem of secondary deviance, A. Shur proposed decriminalizing “victimless crimes.” Another means to prevent the negative impact of stigmatization has often been considered by sociologists - not to make the cases of minors public before sentencing, and to introduce more lenient punishments for them. The deviant behavior of adolescents should not negate their entire subsequent life, given that they are generally more inclined to deviate from the norm in behavior.

3. Differentiated association

The main idea is that learning deviant behavior occurs in groups in which a person spends time. If a person associates himself with a person or group that is guided by principles and methods that deny social norms, he himself begins to deny them. Such reasons often shape the deviant behavior of adolescents, since the value of the group’s opinion is high for them.

Individual factors, development

Psychology is also trying to answer what are the causes of deviant behavior. A whole area has emerged - the psychology of deviant behavior, which studies mental states, human reactions that deviate from the norms of society, as well as the patterns of development that lead to them, and ways to improve the quality of life of a deviant.

The psychology of deviant behavior includes the achievements of clinical psychology and the views, practices and methods of psychiatry. This is explained by the fact that deviation can be a consequence of either a conflict that has arisen within the individual, internally or externally, or serious mental disorders.

The following psychological theories will help to discern the factors that led to the formation of the deviation. The fundamental provisions of each of them: the individual bears full responsibility for his actions, crimes and deviations are a consequence of dysfunction of mental processes.

1. Psychoanalytic theory

Sigmund Freud believed that all people have aggressive impulses that are suppressed by culture through the process of socialization. Problems in the course of socialization lead to the fact that a person directs himself either inward or outward.

2. Cognitive development theory

It is based on the fact that in the process of development a person goes through three stages of the formation of moral standards. A detailed study of the stages was carried out by Kohlberg.

The first level is the fear of punishment and the desire to avoid it, as well as the expectation of benefits from fulfilling the norms. The second is the desire to conform to the immediate environment, maintaining the established order. The second stage is associated with the fact that a person wants recognition, power and order.

And the third stage, corresponding to moral maturity, is the formation of one’s own moral principles. In their actions, people at this stage are guided not by the principles of punishment, reward, power, recognition, but by the intrinsic correctness of a single action.

Getting stuck at any stage can lead to deviations. An interesting consequence of the theory is that at the third stage a person may well behave like a deviant, protesting against those norms and rules that are not fair.

3. Learning Theory

Adopting interaction patterns. In a social situation, it is common to observe how deviant behavior is accepted by the group and even glorified. Wanting to receive reward, praise, fame, a person begins to copy a certain course of action.

In addition to reward, there is also the factor of lack of punishment. When the one being watched does what he wants and gets what he wants, defying the norms but not being punished for it, others follow suit.

According to this theory, correction is achieved through the removal of incentives, the cancellation of rewards. The person does not find reinforcement and soon leaves the path of violating social norms.

Structure and forms

Deviant behavior of an individual is far from the norm and the idea of harmonious development (adaptability, self-control, and learning ability are poorly developed). Since there are many features of contact between a person and the environment, researchers have identified classifications, types and types of deviant behavior.

A general classification of deviant behavior was given by E. V. Zmanovskaya, who distinguishes several groups. In her opinion, deviant behavior can be:

Antisocial. This type is characterized by a contradiction to legal norms; human actions violate public order.
Antisocial. A person does not take into account moral standards, which harms his connections with other people.
Aimed at self-destruction. People with this form of the disorder tend to engage in behavior that harms their own health.

In this case, deviant behavior can be divided into types depending on how exactly the deviation is expressed. The main types of deviant behavior include the following deviations:

Disciplinary.
Criminal or violating the law.
Actions caused by mental illness.

Forms of manifestation of deviant behavior can be both stable and unstable, permanent or temporary, structured (assigned by roles in the group) or not, spontaneous or planned, selfish or altruistic, violating the boundaries of the personal space of other people or leading to self-destruction of the deviant’s personality.

Most often observed, of course, are egoistic deviations. A short period of deviations from norms is typical for periods when a person is in groups that consider this behavior to be correct. The focus on satisfying one’s desires, obtaining some kind of benefit, power, fame or recognition by others are the main motives for deviant behavior. Specific clinical forms:

Aggression externally or internally.
Drug addiction.
Eating disorders.
Deviant sexual behavior.
Super valuable hobbies.
Communication deviations.
Immorality, immorality.
Unaesthetic behavior.

Fighting, withdrawing or ignoring

By how an individual interacts with the environment, one can determine the deviant’s main way of interacting with reality. Due to a certain character conflict with the environment explains the presence of a form of deviation that organically reflects the conflict. V. D. Mendelevich identifies four such methods:

Opposition.
Painful confrontation.
Care.
Ignoring.

Based on them, several specific types of deviations are considered. Discussions are still open about the attitude of some of them to deviance.

1. Delinquent

Deviant and delinquent behavior are sometimes confused, although the latter rather refers to illegal actions, and the first does not fall there, but they both refer to deviations from the norm. At the same time, delinquent is not equal to criminal. The delinquent is characterized by the so-called unconscious nature of the consequences, which is why delinquents commit crimes.

They commit illegal acts spontaneously. This happens to frivolous people who are prone to... Often there is no malicious intent, teenagers have fun and indulge, which ultimately leads to sad consequences. The term can rightfully be used in cases where there is a criminal act, but its intentions were innocent (as defined by E. Anchel).

2. Addictive

The addictive type is characterized by an escape from reality by using substances or activities in order to maintain intense emotions. These people perceive life as “gray and boring”, methodical everyday work is difficult for them, they cannot stand routine responsibilities, although on the other hand, they show excellent results in crisis situations.

A characteristic feature is low self-esteem, compensated by external emphasis on superiority. They strive to lie and blame others, they easily make contacts, but are afraid to build something strong out of them and take responsibility, they are stereotypical, dependent and anxious.

3. Pathocharacterological

Features of deviant behavior of the pathocharacterological type are caused by pathological changes in character: personality disorders, obvious character disorders. In their choice, people belonging to this type are often guided not by realistic motives, but by pathologically exaggerated aspirations: a thirst for recognition, power, dominance. There is a constant reassessment of capabilities, there is a great passion for manipulation, and the perception of surrounding people as if they were pawns on a board.

4. Psychopathological

In this type, behavioral problems are caused by symptoms of psychopathologies. They mean hallucinations, illusions, disturbances of thinking and will, etc.

5. Based on hyperpowers

The characterization of deviant behavior based on hyperabilities is complicated by the fact that this type usually occurs in gifted people, and their deviations from the norm depend on those abilities that have developed strongly. A person may be unable to correctly understand others, cope with everyday activities, etc.

Signs and treatment

The tendency to deviant behavior is determined by both family conditions and individual characteristics. In children under 5 years of age, deviant behavior is not diagnosed. The essential signs of deviant behavior cited by Wikipedia, which do not contradict the position of V. D. Mendelevich, are as follows:

Deviation from moral/cultural norms.
Condemnation by society.
Harm to yourself or others.
Not represented by a single episode (periodically, serially or continuously).
Development of social maladjustment.

What stands apart from all this is the deviant behavior of young people. Essentially, it is caused by changes in the brain that occur during adolescence. The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for self-control, logical reasoning, and choosing the most rational course of action, develops more slowly than those parts of the brain in which fear and arousal are concentrated. Therefore, adolescents are often characterized by increased anxiety and risk-taking.

Successful correction of deviant behavior in adolescents is achieved through the method of cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps to develop adequate reactions to environmental stimuli through retraining (there is an incentive, negative reaction no - the brain eventually remembers and builds a new reaction model), together with the lung medical intervention (sedatives, antidepressants). Other methods - - will allow you to work through problems more deeply: conflicts in the family, trauma, signs of social phobia, etc.

Prevention of deviant behavior in adolescents in connection with the data obtained should focus on advice and discussion. Parents, a psychologist or a significant adult take over the function of the prefrontal cortex and help distinguish right from wrong, without any pressure. Diagnosis of deviant behavior in adolescents should take into account manifestations of delinquent, aggressive, suicidal and dependent behavior.

Deviant behavior in children can be explained either by early onset of puberty, or by problems in the family, school or health. The child, like a barometer, reacts to any changes in groups that are significant to him.

Correction of deviant behavior can be concentrated both on the process of psychotherapy to harmonize the internal state of the individual, and on taking medications if the source is rooted in psychopathology. Most problems in a person’s life are either solved quickly, or can be significantly simplified, or require specialist supervision to improve the quality of life. The main thing is not to be afraid to ask for help, since deviant behavior can lead not only to complications in relationships with loved ones, but also to the destruction of personality. Author: Ekaterina Volkova

- this, on the one hand, is an act, the actions of a person, that do not correspond to officially established or actually developed norms or standards in a given society, and on the other hand, a social phenomenon expressed in mass forms of human activity that do not correspond to those officially established or actually developed in a given society norms or standards. Social control is a mechanism of social regulation, a set of means and methods of social influence, as well as social practice of their use.

Concept of deviant behavior

Under deviant(from Latin deviatio - deviation) behavior in modern sociology it is meant, on the one hand, an act, human actions that do not correspond to officially established or actually established norms or standards in a given society, and on the other hand, a social phenomenon expressed in mass forms of human activity that do not correspond to officially established or actually established norms or standards in a given society.

The starting point for understanding deviant behavior is the concept of a social norm, which is understood as a limit, a measure of what is permissible (permissible or obligatory) in the behavior or activities of people, ensuring the preservation of the social system. Deviations from social norms can be:

positive, aimed at overcoming outdated norms or standards and associated with social creativity, contributing to qualitative changes in the social system;
negative - dysfunctional, disorganizing social system and leading it to destruction, leading to deviant behavior.

Deviant behavior is a kind of social choice: when the goals of social behavior are incommensurate with the real possibilities of achieving them, individuals can use other means to achieve their goals. For example, some individuals, in pursuit of illusory success, wealth or power, choose socially prohibited and sometimes illegal means and become either delinquents or criminals. Another type of deviation from norms is open disobedience and protest, demonstrative rejection of the values and standards accepted in society, characteristic of revolutionaries, terrorists, religious extremists and other similar groups of people actively fighting against the society within which they are located.

In all these cases, deviation is the result of the inability or unwillingness of individuals to adapt to society and its requirements, in other words, it indicates a complete or relative failure of socialization.

Forms of deviant behavior

Deviant behavior is relative because it is measured only by the cultural norms of a given group. For example, criminals consider extortion to be a normal way of earning money, but most of the population considers such behavior deviant. This also applies to certain types of social behavior: in some societies they are considered deviant, in others not. In general, forms of deviant behavior usually include criminality, alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, gambling, mental disorder, and suicide.

One of the typologies of deviant behavior recognized in modern sociology, developed by R. Merton in line with the idea of deviance as a result of anomie, i.e. the process of destruction of the basic elements of culture, primarily in terms of ethical standards.

Typology of deviant behavior Merton is based on the idea of deviance as a gap between cultural goals and socially approved ways of achieving them. In accordance with this, he identifies four possible types of deviation:

innovation, which presupposes agreement with the goals of society and the rejection of generally accepted methods of achieving them (“innovators” include prostitutes, blackmailers, creators of “financial pyramids”, great scientists);
ritualism associated with the denial of the goals of a given society and an absurd exaggeration of the importance of ways to achieve them, for example, a bureaucrat demands that each document be carefully filled out, double-checked, filed in four copies, but the main thing is forgotten - the goal;
retreatism(or escape from reality), expressed in the rejection of both socially approved goals and methods of achieving them (drunks, drug addicts, homeless people, etc.);
riot, denying both goals and methods, but striving to replace them with new ones (revolutionaries striving for a radical breakdown of all social relations).

Merton considers the only type of non-deviant behavior to be conformal, expressed in agreement with the goals and means of achieving them. Merton's typology focuses on the fact that deviation is not a product of an absolutely negative attitude towards generally accepted norms and standards. For example, a thief does not reject a socially approved goal - material well-being, he can strive for it with the same zeal as a young man concerned about his career. The bureaucrat does not abandon the generally accepted rules of work, but he follows them too literally, reaching the point of absurdity. At the same time, both the thief and the bureaucrat are deviants.

Some reasons for deviant behavior are not social in nature, but biopsychic. For example, a tendency towards alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental disorders can be transmitted from parents to children. In the sociology of deviant behavior, there are several directions that explain the reasons for its occurrence. Thus, Merton, using the concept of “anomie” (a state of society in which old norms and values no longer correspond to real relations, and new ones have not yet been established), considered the cause of deviant behavior to be the inconsistency of the goals put forward by society and the means that it offers for their achievements. Within the framework of the direction based on conflict theory, it is argued that social patterns of behavior are deviant if they are based on the norms of another culture. For example, a criminal is considered as a bearer of a certain subculture that is in conflict with the dominant type of culture in a given society. A number of modern domestic sociologists believe that the sources of deviation are social inequality in society, differences in the ability to satisfy needs for different social groups.

There are relationships between various forms of deviant behavior, with one negative phenomenon strengthening the other. For example, alcoholism contributes to increased hooliganism.

Marginalization is one of the causes of deviations. The main sign of marginalization is the breakdown of social ties, and in the “classical” version, economic and social ties are broken first, and then spiritual ones. As characteristic feature social behavior of marginalized people can be called a decrease in the level of social expectations and social needs. The consequence of marginalization is the primitivization of certain segments of society, manifested in production, everyday life, and spiritual life.

Another group of causes of deviant behavior is associated with the spread of various types of social pathologies, in particular, the increase in mental illness, alcoholism, drug addiction, and the deterioration of the genetic fund of the population.

Vagrancy and begging, representing a special way of life (refusal to participate in socially useful work, focusing only on unearned income), received Lately widespread among various types social deviations. The social danger of social deviations of this kind is that tramps and beggars often act as intermediaries in the distribution of drugs, commit thefts and other crimes.

Deviant behavior in modern society has some characteristics. This behavior is increasingly becoming risky and rational. The main difference between deviants who consciously take risks and adventurers is their reliance on professionalism, faith not in fate and chance, but in knowledge and conscious choice. Deviant risk behavior contributes to self-actualization, self-realization and self-affirmation of the individual.

Often deviant behavior is associated with addiction, i.e. with the desire to avoid internal socio-psychological discomfort, to change one’s socio-psychological state, characterized by internal struggle, intrapersonal conflict. Therefore, the deviant path is chosen primarily by those who do not have a legal opportunity for self-realization in the conditions of the existing social hierarchy, whose individuality is suppressed and personal aspirations are blocked. Such people cannot make a career or change their social status using legitimate channels social mobility, due to which generally accepted norms of order are considered unnatural and unfair.

If one or another type of deviation acquires a stable character and becomes the norm of behavior for many, society is obliged to reconsider the principles that stimulate deviant behavior, or to reassess social norms. Otherwise, behavior that was considered deviant may become normal. To prevent destructive deviation from becoming widespread, it is necessary:

increase access to legitimate ways to achieve success and move up the social ladder;
observe social equality before the law;
improve legislation, bringing it into line with new social realities;
strive for adequacy of crime and punishment.

Deviant and delinquent behavior

IN social life like in real traffic, people often deviate from the rules they are supposed to follow.

Behavior that does not conform to requirements is called deviant(or deviant).

Illegal actions, misdeeds and offenses are usually called delinquent behavior. For example, hooliganism can be considered delinquent, obscene language V public place, participation in a fight and other actions that violate legal norms, but are not yet a serious criminal offense. Delinquent behavior is a type of deviant behavior.

Positive and negative deviations

Deviations (deviations), as a rule, are negative. For example, crime, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide, prostitution, terrorism, etc. However, in some cases it is possible positive deviations, for example, sharply individualized behavior characteristic of the original creative thinking, which can be assessed by society as “eccentricity”, a deviation from the norm, but at the same time be socially useful. Asceticism, holiness, genius, innovation are signs of positive deviations.

Negative deviations are divided into two types:

deviations that are aimed at causing harm to others (a variety of aggressive, illegal, criminal actions);
deviations that cause harm to the individual (alcoholism, suicide, drug addiction, etc.).

Reasons for deviant behavior

Previously, attempts were made to explain the causes of deviant behavior based on the biological characteristics of norm violators - specific physical features, genetic deviations; based on psychological characteristics - mental retardation, various problems mental nature. At the same time, the psychological mechanism for the formation of most deviations was declared to be addictive behavior ( addiction- addiction), when a person seeks to escape from the difficulties of real life, using alcohol, drugs, and gambling. The result of addiction is the destruction of personality.

Biological and psychological interpretations of the causes of deviation have not found unambiguous confirmation in science. More reliable conclusions sociological theories that consider the origin of deviation in a broad social context.

According to the concept disorientation, proposed by the French sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), nutritious soil for deviations are social crises, when there is a mismatch between accepted norms and life experience person and a state of anomie sets in - the absence of norms.

American sociologist Robert Merton (1910-2003) believed that the cause of deviation is not the absence of norms, but the inability to follow them. Anomie - it is the gap between culturally prescribed goals and the availability of socially approved means to achieve them.

In modern culture, success and wealth are considered the leading goals. But society does not provide all people with legitimate means to achieve these goals. Therefore, a person has to either choose illegal means, or abandon the goal, replacing it with illusions of well-being (drugs, alcohol, etc.). Another option for deviant behavior in such a situation is rebellion against established goals and means.

According to the theory stigmatization(or labeling) all people are prone to violating norms, but those who are labeled as deviants become deviants. For example, a former criminal may renounce his criminal past, but others will perceive him as a criminal, avoid communicating with him, refuse to hire him, etc. As a result, he has only one option left - to return to the criminal path.

Note that in modern world Deviant behavior is most characteristic of both the unstable and the most vulnerable. In our country, youth alcoholism, drug addiction, and crime are of particular concern. Comprehensive measures are required to combat these and other deviations.

Reasons for explaining deviant behavior

Deviance arises already in the process of primary socialization of a person. It is associated with the formation of motivation, social roles and human statuses in the past and present, which contradict each other. For example, the role of a schoolchild does not coincide with the role of a child. The motivational structure of a person is ambivalent in nature; it contains both positive (conformal) and negative (deviant) motives for action.

Social roles constantly change during a person’s life, strengthening either conformist or deviant motivations. The reason for this is the development of society, its values and norms. What was deviant becomes normal (conformal), and vice versa. For example, socialism, revolution, Bolsheviks, etc. motives and norms were deviant for Tsarist Russia, and their carriers were punished with exile and prison. After the Bolshevik victory, the previous deviant norms were recognized as normal. The collapse of Soviet society turned its norms and values back into deviant ones, which became the reason for new deviant behavior of people in post-Soviet Russia.

Several versions are offered to explain deviant behavior. IN late XIX century, the theory of the Italian physician Lambroso arose about genetic prerequisites for deviant behavior. The “criminal type,” in his opinion, is the result of the degradation of people early stages development. External signs deviant person: protruding lower jaw, decreased sensitivity to pain, etc. Nowadays, the biological causes of deviant behavior include abnormalities of sex chromosomes or additional chromosomes.

Psychological The causes of deviation are called “dementia,” “degeneracy,” “psychopathy,” etc. For example, Freud discovered a type of person with an innate mental attraction to destruction. Sexual deviation is supposedly associated with a deep-seated fear of castration, etc.

Infestation The “bad” norms of spiritual culture of representatives of the middle and upper strata from the lower strata are also considered the cause of deviant behavior. “Infection” occurs during communication “on the street”, as a result of casual acquaintances. Some sociologists (Miller, Sellin) believe that lower social strata have an increased willingness to take risks, thrills, etc.

Simultaneously influential groups They treat people of the lower class as deviants, extending to them isolated cases of their deviant behavior. For example, in modern Russia“persons of Caucasian nationality” are considered potential traders, thieves, and criminals. Here we can also mention the influence of television, the annoying demonstration of scenes of deviant behavior.

The vagueness of normative formulas of motivation, which guide people in difficult situations, is also the cause of deviant behavior. For example, the formulas “do the best you can”, “put the interests of society above your own”, etc. do not allow you to sufficiently adequately motivate your actions in a specific situation. An active conformist will strive for ambitious motives and action projects, a passive one will reduce his efforts to the limits of his own peace of mind, and a person with conformist-deviant motivation will always find a loophole to justify his deviant behavior.

Social inequality - another important reason for deviant behavior. The fundamental needs of people are quite similar, and the ability to satisfy them varies social strata(rich and poor) are different. In such conditions, the poor receive a “moral right” to engage in deviant behavior towards the rich, expressed in various forms of expropriation of property. This theory, in particular, formed the ideological foundation of the revolutionary deviation of the Bolsheviks against the propertied classes: “rob the loot,” arrests of the propertied, forced labor, executions, the Gulag. In this deviation, there is a discrepancy between unjust goals (full social equality) and unjust means (total violence).

Conflict between cultural norms of a given social group and society is also the cause of deviant behavior. The subculture of a student or army group, a lower class, or a gang differ significantly from each other in their interests, goals, values, on the one hand, and the possible means of their implementation, on the other hand. If they collide in a given place and at a given time - for example, on vacation - deviant behavior arises in relation to the cultural norms accepted in society.

Class essence of the state, supposedly expressing the interests of the economically dominant class, is an important reason for the deviant behavior of both the state in relation to the oppressed classes and the latter in relation to it. From the point of view of this conflict theory, the laws issued in the state protect primarily not the workers, but the bourgeoisie. The communists justified their negative attitude towards the bourgeois state by its oppressive nature.

Anomie - the cause of deviation proposed by E. Durkheim when analyzing the causes of suicide. It represents the devaluation of a person’s cultural norms, his worldview, mentality, and conscience as a result of the revolutionary development of society. People, on the one hand, lose their orientation, and on the other hand, following previous cultural norms does not lead to the fulfillment of their needs. This happened with Soviet norms after the collapse of Soviet society. Overnight millions Soviet people became Russians living in the “jungle of wild capitalism,” where “man is a wolf to man,” where competition operates, explained by social Darwinism. In such conditions, some (conformists) adapt, others become deviants, even criminals and suicides.

An important cause of deviant behavior is social (including warriors), man-made and natural disasters. They violate the psyche of people, increase social inequality, cause disorganization of law enforcement agencies, which becomes objective reason deviant behavior of many people. For example, we can recall the consequences of our protracted armed conflict in Chechnya, Chernobyl, and the earthquake.