Consistent with the premises of strain theory, research finds that juvenile delinquency and gang membership is primarily caused by

It is caused by block opportunities. Robert King Merton who developed the Stain Theory was an American sociologist who claimed that society can boost deviance to a large degree. Merton assumed that socially accepted goals put pressure on people to follow. People are compulsory to work within the system or become members of a deviant subculture to achieve the desired goal. Merton continued on to say when individuals are faced with a gap between their goals (usually finances/money related) and their current status, strain occurs.