An Analysis of Cohen’s Theory of Status Frustration

Answer

An Analysis of Cohen’s Theory of Status Frustration

                Cohen’s theory of status frustration provides that despite having everybody encouraged to realize a high status in society, members of the lower socioeconomic bracket find it challenging to achieve this level (Blankenship, 2018). Therefore, status frustration is a feeling shown by people when denied the chance of obtaining a better social status. Status frustration increases the level of crime and delinquency in the community. Considering Cohen's sentiments, the poor find it difficult to raise their tuition fees and hence, fails to attain an academic qualification which grants them access to a profession, Therefore, learning how to earn a living through legitimate means becomes almost impossible. However, this is not the case for the members of the lower class without proper education qualifications. Arguably, the potential that people from the lower level will engage in crime to earn a living is higher than that of the top class.

                Being born of parents of a high socioeconomic class, I had a chance to attend school without any difficulty. However, not all my classmates were as lucky. One particular African America student in my class was always missing classes as his parents had trouble raising the necessary funds to keep him in school. Some bullies who knew his status made fun of him making him feel worse about his social class. As a result, the African American learner maintained small social ties with his peers. Moreover, in most cases, he was not ready to learn since he was not sure if he was going to complete his studies during the academic year. According to the theory of status frustration, learners report to school ready to learn and be a success or vice versa (Blankenship, 2018). The factor which determines their readiness to learn is founded on their socialization and social class. In several instances, the African American proved his frustration by failing to show up for classes. Whenever he did, he was always bored and lacked the proper drive to learn. At some point, I engaged him to try and understand why he never shows up for some class. His response suggested how badly he wanted to be a part of the higher social class. Clearly, he could not forget his economic position in society. He did not like the fact that his grades were dropping every term yet it was not his fault. With time, the situation worsened as my peer begun engaging in criminal behaviors such as theft and pickpocketing. Considering Cohen’s theory, it is prevalent that frustrated persons will attempt to resolve their condition by engaging in delinquent behaviors (Blankenship, 2018). The theoretical provision can be related to the African America as it can be derived that his engaging in pickpocketing and theft was focused on addressing his status concern despite the damaging nature of his actions.

                In sum, the status frustration theory focuses on explaining the emergence of delinquent subcultures and delinquency arising due to the economic class difference. Within a classroom context, members of the lower-economic class find it difficult to raise tuition fees which further affects their chances to remain in class and obtain a desirable academic performance. With this, they not only record poor grades, but also show elements of frustration which drives them to react. Engaging in shady dealings such as crimes is one of the common forms of reaction evident among frustrated learners in this context.