Constructionist Definitions of Social Problems

The Constructionist Argument

The constructionist argument is that there has been no significant change in the activity in question but that activities or rates of activities that were not previously defined as problematic have been newly defined as problems. Examples of this are rises in female crime, spreading of satanic cults, growth of identity theft, increase in child abductions, and the poisoning of Halloween candy. The reasons for this redefinition are myriad and range from needs for the criminal justice bureaucracy to maintain clients and vested interest through sensationalism to new information. Whatever the reason, from the constructionist approach, the primary issue is the definition process itself, rather than the activity. To argue the constructionist approach, one must show that the problem has remained relatively constant while interest and concern have increased.

Craig Forsyth and Neal Shover argue this approach with respect to elderly crime. They contend that the current focus on crimes by the elderly is a product of three factors. The first is the vested [Page 129]interest of the criminal justice bureaucracy. As the baby boom cohort moved through the high-crime-committing ages (15 to 24), this caused an increase in the crime rate and correspondingly a growth in the criminal justice bureaucracy. Once this large cohort had passed the high-crime-committing years, the crime rate began to fall. Bureaucracies justify their existence by the number of clients they process. Therefore, the criminal justice bureaucracy, faced with a declining number of clients, began to cast about for new ones such as elderly criminals because that was a previously untapped resource.

A second factor is the fashion by which scholarship is evaluated in most academic disciplines. The measure of scholarly activity has always been publication. Thus, academics are always looking for hot new areas of research where the competition is less fierce and the probability of publication greater. The criminal justice interest in elderly crime provided such an area, and scholars were quick to respond. The media exacerbated these two factors. Always hungry for news, the media increased coverage of this new crime wave. Huge percentage increases in elderly crime were reported. These increases were accurate but misleading because the numerical base was originally so low. For example, a numeric increase from two crimes to four leads to an accurate but misleading 100% increase.

The third factor, which has affected both media and scholarly attention, is the uniqueness of the juxtaposition of old age and crime, which appear almost antithetical. This is not unlike the idea that brought female criminology to our attention. Thus, Forsyth and Shover argue that elderly crime has remained relatively stable, while the increased focus has stemmed from three sources: (1) criminal justice agencies, (2) the mass media, and (3) scholars.

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