Durkheim's Theory of Social Order and Deviance: a Multi-level Test

Abstract

In the present paper, we study the social context of adolescent delinquency in order to examine Durkheim’s theory of social order. We use survey data on urban adolescents in Iceland that allow us to examine key theoretical constructs on both the community and the individual levels of analysis. Our findings lend substantial support to the multi-level nature of Durkheim’s concept of social integration. Using hierarchical linear regression, we show that both community and individual level social integration indicators have negative effects on adolescent delinquency, and that the experience of anomie mediates a substantial part of these effects. Furthermore, the multi-level context of social integration and anomie moderates the effect of imitation (peer delinquency) on delinquent behaviour. The findings highlight important sociological themes that have been neglected historically in scholarly traditions that have elaborated upon and extended Durkheim’s theory of social order.