SAGE Reference - Encyclopedia of Social Deviance

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Drift Theory

By: Margaret Mahoney & Katie A. Farina
In: Encyclopedia of Social Deviance
Edited by: Craig J. Forsyth & Heith Copes
Subject:Psychopathology, Crime & Deviance (general)

Drift theory was originally proposed by Greshem Sykes and David Matza to explain how juvenile delinquents can hold both conventional and deviant values and attitudes. The theory claims that delinquents use techniques of neutralization to rationalize their delinquent and/or deviant ...

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  Mahoney, M., & Farina, K. (2014). Drift theory. In C. J. Forsyth, & H. Copes (Eds.), Encyclopedia of social deviance (Vol. 1, pp. 224-224). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483340470.n91
  
  Mahoney, Margaret, and Katie A. Farina. "Drift Theory." In Encyclopedia of Social Deviance, edited by Forsyth, Craig J., and Heith Copes, 224-224. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2014. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483340470.n91.
  
  Mahoney, M. and Farina, K. 2014. Drift Theory. In: Craig J. Forsyth and Heith Copes Editors, 2014. Encyclopedia of Social Deviance, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 224 Available at: <https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483340470.n91> [Accessed 15 Aug 2022].
  
  Mahoney, Margaret and Katie A. Farina. "Drift Theory." Encyclopedia of Social Deviance. Edited by Craig J. Forsyth and Heith Copes. Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2014, pp. 224-224. SAGE Knowledge. 15 Aug 2022, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483340470.n91.
  
  Mahoney, Margaret, and Katie A. Farina (2014). Drift theory In: Forsyth, Craig J., and Heith Copes (Eds.),Drift theory Encyclopedia of social deviance Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.; 2014:224-224. doi:10.4135/9781483340470.n91
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