Social Deviance : A Student Perspective / Richard A. Diem.

The paper describes a study of deviant behavior among students attending a high school in Texas. All students in the study attended a sociology class taught by a very strict teacher whose rules of behavior conflicted with students' peer group behavior expectations. Participant observation of student behavior in class and interviews with individual students were conducted to identify daily behavior patterns and students' attitudes toward the patterns. Deviant behavior included skipping class, unauthorized smoking, use of drugs, school vandalism, and stealing. It was found that very few students skipped class, and that peers would not report students who did. Smoking restrictions were violated by all students who smoked, and they felt students should have smoking privileges equal to those of teachers. Almost all students had used marijuana and alcohol, and admitted that it was deviant, but would not report the use of drugs to authorities. Vandalism occurred in only a few cases and was condoned by students as long as it did not interfere with individual rights. However, stealing personal property angered students and they reported they would prosecute someone who took their property. Conclusions are that students do not disapprove of deviant behavior unless it directly affects them. Students identified the major cause of deviant behavior as lack of parental control over their children. (AV)

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