Sutherland's theory believes that deviance is a learned behavior, meaning that individuals learn deviant behavior from those closest to them who provide models of and opportunities for deviance (OpenStax College, 2015). A study that took place in the 1960s found that the best predictor of criminal behavior in children was whether they had parents who had been convicted of a crime (Todd, 1996). Children who were under the age of 10 when their parents were convicted were more likely than other children to participate in spousal abuse and criminal behavior by their early thirties. Even when taking other factors into consideration, such as dangerous neighborhoods, poor school systems, and overcrowded housing, researchers still found that parents were the main influence affecting the child's behavior (Todd, 1996). .
Labeling is another theory that's an important aspect of the symbolic interactionist theory of deviance. The labeling theory explains how the labels or reputations people are given affect not only their own perception, but others' perceptions of them as well, thus channeling their behavior either into deviance or into conformity (Henslin, J. M., Glenday, D., Duffy, A., Pupo, N., 2007). A good example of the labeling theory is the study conducted by William J. Chambliss of the Saints (boys from respectable middle class families) and the Roughnecks (boys from less respectable, working class families) (Henslin, pp. 167). According to Henslin, the labels given to the "Saints" and the "Roughnecks" affected how others perceived them and how they perceived themselves, and the study proved how labels have the ability to open and close doors of opportunity for the individuals involved (pp. 167). Another theoretical perspective sociologists use to explain the world is the structural functional theory. Sociologists who follow the functionalist approach view deviance as a key component of a functioning society, and are concerned with how the different elements of a society contribute to the whole (OpenStax College, 2015).