What is "strain theory"

Strain theory can refer to;

In chemistry:

• Baeyer strain theory

In social sciences:

• Strain theory (sociology), the theory that social structures within society may pressure citizens to commit crime
• Value-added theory, the assumption that certain conditions are needed for the development of a social movement

In sociology and criminology, strain theory states that social structures within society may pressure citizens to commit crime. Following on the work of Émile Durkheim, Strain Theories have been advanced by Robert King Merton (1957), Albert K. Cohen (1955), Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960), Neil Smelser (1963), Robert Agnew (1992), and Steven Messner and Richard Rosenfeld (1994).