Social Structure and Anomia in a Small City

Abstract

Interest recently has been focused on Durkheim's concept of anomie and Merton's theory of social structure and anomie. Srole's scale of anomia has been utilized in several studies; some doubt remains regarding support for Merton's notions. The present study based on a survey of a small city replicates in part some of the earlier work and tests Merton's hypothesis. Significant associations are reported between Srole's anomia and social class, class identification, and formal and informal social participation. It is held that anomia is not peculiar to large urban environments. Finally, it is hypothesized that the relatively lower classes have a greater tendency to anomia due to socially structured differential access to supportive subsystems as well as the inaccessibility of means for the achievement of socially desired ends.