 Dear students, in this module, we are going to discuss a very interesting theory of structural functionalist perspective to understand the deviant behavior. It is the strain theory given by Robert K. Merton about how mainstream values can produce the deviance. Strain theory suggests that deviance is a result of individual feeling, a sense of strain, or frustration due to a lack of access to mainstream goals or values. Usually, the norms that are well defined for you, how can you access values? For example, money is a value, success in examination is a value, honor or respect is considered a value, and how can you access them? What can be the right way to earn money? What can be the indicators of your success in examination, and in which ways can you achieve success by following the right ways? All these ways are well defined. But what happens most of the time is that the goals for you are well defined, the norms are well defined, but the opportunities to access them are limited. For example, you have to earn money, everyone knows what is the right way to do it. But those right ways are inaccessible for some individuals. And they don't get those opportunities or opportunities because of which they can achieve their goals on the right ways. So this gap in access to those resources creates a mental stress or strain. So when this frustration converts into mental stress and strain, then individuals adopt deviant ways. In Pakistan, limited access to education and employment opportunities can create the sense of strain or frustration leading to the deviant behavior. So strain theory can be used to understand the root causes of deviance and how to address them such as through increasing access to education and employment opportunities. So Robert Kimmerton says that sometimes people's goals are positive, but the means to access those goals become negative. So deviancy will not occur only when the goals are positive and the means are positive. But if the goals are positive and the means are negative or the means are positive and the goals are negative, then also deviancy occurs. So sometimes the situation goes that people reject old goals and old means and adopt new goals and new means. That's why they are called rebels and rebellion is an extreme form of deviance considered. So in a nutshell, strain theory helps us understand that how normal behavior creates the sense of or normal values and practices create a sense of stress and strain for individuals which would ultimately lead to the deviant behavior.