Modern English Football Hooliganism:

A Quantitative Exploration in Criminological Theory

Rich A. Wallace

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy
in
Sociology

Carol A. Bailey, Co-Chair

William E. Snizek, Co-Chair
Clifton D. Bryant
Charles J. Dudley
Donald J. Shoemaker

December 10, 1998

Blacksburg, Virginia

Keywords: Football Hooliganism, Criminology, Theory, Subcultural Delinquency

Copyright 1998, Rich A. Wallace
 Modern English Football Hooliganism:
A Quantitative Exploration in Criminological Theory

Rich A. Wallace

(ABSTRACT)

Studies of football hooliganism have developed in a number of academic disciplines, yet

little of this literature directly relates to criminology. The fighting, disorderly conduct,
and destructive behavior of those who attend football matches, especially in Europe has
blossomed over the past thirty years and deserves criminological attention. Football
hooliganism is criminal activity, but is unique because of its context specific nature,
occurring almost entirely inside the grounds or in proximity to the stadiums where the
matches are played.

This project explores the need for criminological explanations of football hooligans and
their behavior based on literature which indicates that subcultural theories may be
valuable in understanding why this behavioral pattern has become a preserve for young,
white, working-class males. This study employs Albert Cohen’s (1955) theory of
subcultural delinquency to predict the hooligan activities of young, white, working-class
males. West and Farrington’s longitudinal study, the Cambridge Study in Delinquent
Development provides a wealth of data on numerous topics, including hooliganism, and
is used to explore the link between hooliganism and criminological theory. The running
hypothesis, grounded in Cohen’s theory of subcultural delinquency, is that the less
middle-class the youths are in their values the more likely they will be to engage in
football hooliganism.

Cohen initially identified a locus of nine middle-class values: ambition, individual

responsibility, achievement and performance, delayed gratification, rationality and
planning, etiquette and the cultivation of social skills, self-control, wholesome leisure,
and respect for property. These middle-class values have been modified into a shorter set
of values; constructive leisure, acceptable conduct, self-reliance, and success, that are
more mutually exclusive and easier to test empirically. Scales were constructed for each
dimension of the modified version of Cohen’s middle-class values using factor analysis
with orthogonal rotation. Each scale then underwent reliability analysis using
Chronbach’s alpha. From there the scales for the middle-class values, the dependent
variable of football hooliganism, and controls were tested using both bivariate and
multivariate procedures. Results indicate that these modified middle-class values may be
an important explanatory factor for football hooliganism.
 DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to those who have made me realize that nature is full of
splendor and that life provides limitless opportunities for those who seek them.

To future journeys, knowing that peace truly exists in the wild,

Hooli

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to begin by thanking the members of my committee, Dr. Carol

Bailey, Dr. Cliff Bryant, Dr. Jack Dudley, Dr. Don Shoemaker, and Dr. Bill Snizek, who
stuck by me patiently as the project came to fruition. Each of you has provided unique
contributions to my development and career aspirations. The chairs of my committee
deserve special recognition. Dr. Carol Bailey, for helping and encouraging me throughout
the development of the dissertation and listening to all my concerns, no matter how
deluded the may have seemed. Dr. Bill Snizek, for taking me on as a teaching assistant
and for educating me with respect to professionalism and the importance of teaching.
I would also like to express my appreciation to the Department of Sociology at
Virginia Tech for providing me with the freedom to fully explore my interests in
criminology and criminal justice. A further word of thanks for the financial support that
was provided which helped make all of this possible.
Thanks to those colleagues who have been so supportive and encouraging over the
past 5 years, especially my co-conspirator D. Alexander and my kindred spirit L. Linares.
I must also thank the members of NADS who always made life enjoyable, helped me stay
the course, and made me realize that support comes from many unexpected places. The
Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls needs to be
recognized for asking me to join them professionally and standing by me throughout the
process.
None of these thank you’s would be possible or necessary without the eternal
love, support, guidance, and nurturing of my wonderful wife. Steph, I can’t begin to tell
you how much richer my life is for what we have and what we share. “You’ll never walk
alone” (LFC).

iv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

DEDICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

CHAPTER II - THE GENESIS OF FOOTBALL AND HOOLIGANISM . . . . . . . . 10

2.1 The Development of Modern Football . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2 The Enduring Problem of English Football Hooliganism . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3 Current Status of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

CHAPTER III - INVESTIGATING HOOLIGANISM CRIMINOLOGICALLY . . 20

3.1 The Criminological Import of Hooliganism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.2 The Theoretical Basis of the Dissertation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.2.1 A Brief Summary of the Development of Strain Theory . . . . . . . 22
3.2.2 The Development of Subcultural Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.2.3 The Prominent Subcultural Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.3 Making Use of Cohen's Theory of Subcultural Delinquency . . . . . . . . . 27
3.3.1 Basis of the Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.3.2 The Theoretical Influence of Merton and Sutherland . . . . . . . . . 29
3.3.3 Delinquent Subcultures - Emergence and Continuation . . . . . . . 31
3.4 Attempts to Test Cohen's Theory of Subcultural Delinquency . . . . . . . . 38
3.4.1 The Relationship between School and Delinquency . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.4.2 School Values, Academic Achievement, and Delinquency . . . . 42
3.4.3 The Relationship between Social Class and Delinquency . . . . . . 44
3.4.4 Summarizing the Findings of the Theoretical Tests . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.5 Making Cohen's Subcultural Theory More Concise and Testable . . . . . 48
3.5.1 Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
3.5.2 Self-Reliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.5.3 Constructive Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.5.4 Acceptable Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.5.5 Conspicuous Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.6 Theoretical Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

v
CHAPTER IV - REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.1 Characteristics of Football Hooliganism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.1.1 Defining Hooliganism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.1.2 Identifying Hooligans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Social Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4.2 State of the Empirical Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
4.2.1 Qualitative Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Ethnography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Content Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2.2 Quantitative Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4.3 Criminological Explorations of Football Hooliganism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.3.1 Quantitative Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.3.2 Qualitative Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.3.3 Theoretical Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.4 Using Cohen Theory to Explain Hooliganism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.5 The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.5.1 Demographics of the Study Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
4.5.2 Issues of Reliability and Validity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
4.5.3 Unresolved Problems Encountered in the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4.5.4 Strengths of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

CHAPTER V - MATERIALS & METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

5.1 The Data Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
5.2 Measurement of the Study's Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
5.2.1 Football Hooliganism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
5.2.2 Cohen's Middle-Class Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Self-Reliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Constructive Leisure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Acceptable Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.2.3 Gang Activities Outside the Football Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
5.2.4 Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Social Handicaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Single-Parent Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Differential Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
5.3 Analytic Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

vi
CHAPTER VI - RESULTS AND ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.1 Univariate Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.1.1 Study Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
6.2 Bivariate Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
6.2.1 Independent Samples T-Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
6.2.2 Correlations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
6.3 Multivariate Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
6.3.1 Multiple Regression Models without Control Variables . . . . . . 126
6.3.2 Multiple Regression Models with Control Variables . . . . . . . . 130

CHAPTER VII - DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

7.1 Present Considerations and Future Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
7.2 Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

LITERATURE CITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

APPENDIX A - DESCRIPTION OF MEASURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

APPENDIX B - FOOTBALL, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD’S SPORT . 157

VITAE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

vii
 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1 - Univariate Statistics for Dependent, Independent and

Control Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

TABLE 2 - Independent Samples T-Tests: Mean Differences for Football

Hooligans and Non-Hooligans on Middle-Class Values . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

TABLE 3 - Independent Samples T-Tests: Mean Differences for Football

Hooligans and Non-Hooligans on Gang Activities and Controls . . . . . 123

TABLE 4 - Correlation Matrix for All Dependent, Independent and

Control Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

TABLE 5 - Football Hooliganism Regressed on All Middle-Class Values . . . . . . . . . 127

TABLE 6 - Football Hooliganism Regressed on the Three Most Significant

Middle-Class Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

TABLE 7 - Football Hooliganism Regressed on All Middle-Class Values and

Gang Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

TABLE 8 - Football Hooliganism Regressed on All Middle-Class Values and

Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

TABLE 9 - Football Hooliganism Regressed on the Three Most Significant

Middle-Class Values and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

TABLE 10 - Football Hooliganism Regressed on All Middle-Class Values,

Gang Activities, and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

viii
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A gang of young men (possibly neo-Nazis) attacks a police officer and

beats him about the head with iron bars and repeatedly kicks him. The
officer remains in a coma and doctors believe he has suffered at least
some permanent brain damage. Based on reports, pictures, and video
footage, three people have been arrested in connection with the crime.
(SportsLine Worldwide wire reports 9 July 1998)

An individual taking a long train ride stabs the other man in his
compartment to death with a knife. Later the individual is arrested
upon fighting with the night watchman of the hotel he is staying at and
eventually confesses to the murder. (Reuters 4 July 1998)

Over a three hour period a group of approximately 150 people

rampaged through a port town. This mob went through the town
"hurling paving stones, bottles and traffic signs, smashing shop and
cafe windows and damaging two police cars" (2). Order was restored
by police, with the aid of police dogs and water cannons. (Daily Mail
26 June 1998)

One of the public's first questions about incidents such as these center on a desire
to know why the events occurred. Questions like "why did the young men decide to attack
a police officer," "why did they take it so far," "why did the train passenger stab the other
person in his compartment," "why did the crowd riot," and "why did the crowd focus their

1
attention on destroying property" are frequent and understandable. These inquiries are a
struggle to gain an understanding of offender motivation, it is an attempt to find a reason
or cause for such criminal behavior.
The public are not the only ones to have such an interest in the motives people
have for committing criminal acts, criminologists and criminal justice practitioners also
have an intense desire to understand such matters. For these groups trying to understand
and explain "why" is often a key aspect of their jobs and research. For these professions
the search for the "why" of criminal events focuses upon the etiology of criminal
behavior, which attempts to find, describe, and predict the causes of such activities.
Criminologists often argue that the motivation for criminal acts can be understood
and explained through the use of a relatively simple dichotomy. This dichotomy of
motives identifies crimes as being committed for instrumental or expressive reasons
(Glaser 1974; Block 1977; Riedel 1987; Decker 1996; Miethe and McCorkle 1998).
Often the criminologists using this dichotomy of motives maintains that they are, at least
relatively, mutually exclusive categories -- crimes are committed for either instrumental
or expressive reasons.
Instrumental crimes are offenses committed for primarily rational reasons. The
basic consideration is that the criminal act is committed in order to bring about specific
goals or to fulfill certain needs (Glaser 1974; Riedel 1987; Miethe and McCorkle 1998).
A list of possible instrumental motives is supplied by Miethe and McCorkle (1998), who
maintain that "money, revenge, status enhancement, control, and domination are often
considered instrumental goals of crime" (p. 13). In order to achieve such goals the
offender has usually tried to rationally calculate how to maximize benefits while
minimizing costs, meaning that instrumental crimes "are a means of obtaining satisfaction
from the products of crime rather than from the criminal acts themselves" (Glaser
1974:75). It is quite possible that certain crimes of violence may be committed for
instrumental reasons, but the perception is that instrumental motives are most likely to be
employed for property offenses, such as; burglary, motor vehicle theft, and shoplifting,

2
since they provide the offender with financial gain (Chambliss 1969; Glaser 1974; Decker
1996).
Violent offenses are more likely to be perceived as expressive crimes that are
committed without the consideration of costs and benefits, especially financial gains. The
expressive motives for crime are best exemplified in research and discussions on assaults
and homicides, but can also be aptly implemented for all forms of criminality, even
crimes like burglary (Block 1977; Tunnell 1992; Decker 1996). Expressive criminal acts
are committed as a result of emotions felt by the offender, meaning that the acts are likely
to be spontaneous or impulsive (Glaser 1974; Block 1977; Miethe and McCorkle 1998).
According to Decker (1996), "it is the expression of a strongly held emotion that most
often characterizes expressive motives" (p. 431). The expressed emotions that are likely
to precipitate expressive crimes include anger, fear, revenge, aggression, and hatred. A
further demarcation for expressive crimes is a list of research which finds that expressive
crimes are more likely to involve non-strangers than are instrumental crimes (Decker
1996:430).
A key aspect to understanding how instrumental and expressive criminal acts
differ is in the ability to control or deter them. The argument is made time and again that
instrumental crimes are more likely to be deterred than expressive crimes because of the
rational thought attributed to the instrumental acts (Chambliss 1969; Glaser 1974; Miethe
and McCorkle 1998). Violent crimes, especially criminal homicide, tend to reflect the
expressive nature of the offense as people go about committing such offenses without
regard for the punishments that may await them. Instrumental offenses, on the other hand,
are defined by the fact that the offender is taking real and perceived benefits and costs
into account, including possible punishments (Chambliss 1969).1
Expressive and instrumental motives are not only applied to what criminologists
would classically identify as street crime, but also are employed in the explanation of

1
In his study of burglars, Tunnell (1992) found that people don't accurately take all possible costs and
benefits into account. He saw that a large proportion failed to take possible punishment into account, and
when they did they underestimated its possible severity. He and others contend that we work from a point
of limited rationality, but rationality none the less.

3
motives for corporate crime, occupational crime, organized crime, public order offenses,
and even political crimes. Some of the offenses in each of these categories appear to have
relatively simple, straight-forward motives based on anger, revenge, personal benefit, or
financial gain; however, for many crimes the motives are more complicated and are
difficult to pin down accurately.
Trying to determine which motive, expressive or instrumental, is at the root of any
criminal behavior may be an inaccurate proposition since there are criminal acts where
both motives may be working simultaneously. This complication may be best exemplified
by the crimes juveniles and young adults commit in an attempt to further develop their
self-concepts and gain separation and independence in the adult world (Glaser 1974). The
striving undertaken by these young people through crime exhibit both instrumental and
expressive motivations. As Glaser (1974:76) argues,
these expressive aspects cannot wisely be overlooked; even in
offenses that appear to be instrumental activity pursued in an
unemotional way, money or property may motivate behavior not just
as a means of getting something else, but as symbols of
accomplishment competing with alternative influences on self-
conception.
So in certain cases, for certain individuals and groups, it is quite possible that both
expressive and instrumental motives are being expressed in criminal activities, regardless
of the type of crime that is being committed. This proposition is supported by Miethe and
McCorkle (1998) who admit that criminal motivations can be difficult to prove because
they may have numerous and diverse sources.
The incidents described at the beginning of this section are criminal offenses
which are incapable of being explained as simply being instrumentally or expressively
motivated. All three events have similar motivations, even though the first two are crimes
of violence and the third involves property-related criminality. Yet the significance of
these events goes beyond the category of crime that they represent because all three are

4
acts of football hooliganism.2 Such activities are of great international importance both
socially and academically; moreover, it is a class of criminal activity that defies simple
categorization.
Acts of football hooliganism are perceived to be an fusion of multiple
instrumental and expressive motivations (Dunning, Murphy, and Williams 1988). The
instrumental basis of hooligan motivation does not revolve around financial benefit, but
does provide those involved with the ability to enhance their status. Among the different
groups involved in hooliganism there is an interest in gaining status by being better,
stronger, and more destructive than the other hooligans and hooligan groups (Marsh
1982; Dunning, Murphy, and Williams 1986; Dunning 1990; Giulianotti 1994k; King
1997; Armstrong 1998). At the same time, these events also can also be characterized as
having expressive motivations. Anger, revenge, and hatred are among the expressed
emotional motivations for committing acts of football hooliganism. The vast majority of
the violence- and property-related criminality is directed at out-groups, especially in cases
where the opposing sides have developed a rivalry (Igbinovia 1985; Murphy, Dunning,
and Williams 1988; Redhead 1991; Bromberger 1993; Armstrong 1994; Roversi 1994).
In cases such as these the two sides develop a continual hostility toward one another, and
criminal acts of hooliganism are often the result of hatred and a desire for revenge. Even
without a long-standing rivalry in place, hooliganism could erupt in any situation where
opposing fans have a chance to come into contact or where sides come into contact with
police (Mathias 1991; Stott and Reicher 1998).
Over time, hooliganism has become a pervasive problem experienced by most
football playing nations. Football hooliganism can occur any place in the world any time

2
In this project the term football is used in place of the term soccer. In the United States of America
most people recognize the sport as soccer, while internationally the sport is identified as football. Most
descriptions of the disruptions which occur in this context are aptly referred to as football hooliganism
since they are much more likely to occur internationally. So even though it seems that neither term is used
exclusively internationally or in the United States football will be the term used in this manuscript.

5
there is a football match, at any level.3 From local leagues to the World Cup the
possibility of hooliganism exists, and while some forms of this behavior are viewed as
relatively minor and innocuous, a significant proportion of these behaviors can be
legitimately defined as criminal acts, from status and property offenses to violent crimes
and conspiracies (Coalter 1985; Williams, Dunning, and Murphy 1986; Armstrong and
Hobbs 1994; Giulianotti 1994t). In fact, fighting and assaults are one of the principle
characteristics of football hooliganism (Marsh 1977; Ingham 1978; Hobbs and Robins
1991; Archetti and Romero, 1994; Finn, 1994).4
While many countries, like Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Germany, Holland, Italy,
and Scotland are known to have significant problems with football hooliganism, England
long been viewed as the home of the world's worst hooligan problem and is generally
considered to be the birthplace of modern hooliganism (Murphy, Williams, and Dunning
1990; Williams 1991h; Giulianotti 1994s; Roversi 1994; van der Brug 1994).5 The
hooliganism affiliated with English football has been traced back as far as the late 1800s,
but has changed dramatically over time (Taylor 1971; Maguire 1986; Mason 1988;
Dunning 1990). Present forms of hooliganism are repeatedly thought to have their origins
in the period of the mid- to late 1960s. During this period, according to Hobbs and
Robins (1991:554),
whole sections of terracing were taken over by the 'youth end' to the
exclusion of the older soccer citizenry. This represented a significant

3
Acts of football-related violence have occurred even when the match is played in a different town or
country. The 1998 World Cup in France bears this out as fans in Argentina, Chile, Cameroon, England,
and elsewhere engaged in violent behavior as a result of their teams' performance during the competition
(SportsLine Worldwide wire reports 23 June 1998).

4
The vast majority of scholars writing about football hooliganism seem unwilling to go so far as to say
that the activities of hooligans are criminal. At the same time, these authors regularly focus their attention
on hooligans engaged in fighting, assaults, violence, aggression, destruction of property, and conflicts with
the police. They also identify that hooligans get arrested and charged with criminal offenses, yet they refer
to such activities as little more than acts of violence that are possibly deviant (for example, Taylor 1971;
Finn 1994; Giulianotti 1994t; Stott and Reicher 1998).

5
As Duke and Crolley (1996) point out while hooliganism is an English import to other nations,
whenever it is adopted it is molded to fit specific cultural conditions.

6
 break with traditional ways of watching football and can be dated by
most observers, with some precision, to the seasons of 1966-7 and
1967-8.
The 'youth ends' were occupied by individuals who were less interested in football than
spectators from previous generations. The interests of these 'youth ends' were perceived to
lie in the perception that the stadium was an appropriate place for fighting and
destruction. Since the late 1960s, hooliganism has evolved from "anarchic rabble to the
highly organized groups which met in pubs to plan violence, which wore items of
clothing identifiable as 'uniforms', and which was under the control of 'generals' and
'lieutenants'" (Armstrong and Hobbs 1994:201).
Today the perception of hooliganism as organized crime has become
commonplace. But researchers point out that most hooligan crews are loosely knit and
informally organized, conforming only tangentially to other, more traditional, forms of
organized crime (Armstrong and Harris 1991; Dunning, Murphy, and Waddington 1991;
Giulianotti 1994t; Armstrong 1998). Some have gone so far as to state that public
officials, the police, and the media have sculpted the problem of hooliganism into a moral
panic (Cohen 1973; Dunning et al. 1991; Armstrong and Hobbs 1994).
Regardless of how well organized these English football hooligans are, there is
little question about the extent of their aberrant behavior. Hooligans have engaged in a
broad array of illicit activities since the birth of modern hooliganism during the 1966/7
season, and many of these behaviors have become more sophisticated and outlandish over
time. Williams et al. (1986) describe modern hooliganism as a "'quasi-dialectical' process
in which the actions of hooligan fans have led to new control initiatives that, in their turn,
have led to new actions by fans, and so on in what has been so far an ever-escalating
spiral" (p. 363). This escalation and sophistication is intimately linked to the behavior of
English hooligans, but the same progression has occurred all over the globe. It just
happens that any time someone mentions the phrase 'football hooliganism' people
automatically assume the English are involved.

7
 There is a great deal of effort focused on trying to figure out just who these
hooligans are. Many researchers maintain that football hooligans consist largely of young,
white, working-class males (Taylor 1971; Moorhouse 1984; Williams et al. 1986; Roversi
1991; Armstrong 1998). Attempts have been made to refute this general characterization
of hooligans, but most European studies find that the majority of hooligans are indeed
young, white, and working-class (for example, Dunning 1994).6 In terms of age, most
studies find the core members to be in their late teens and early 20s, before eventually
aging out. The social class position of most hooligans is found to be working-class, often
including the underemployed and the unemployed. There may be some hooligans from
across the social class spectrum, but it has been estimated that as much as 80 percent
come from working-class backgrounds (Dunning 1994).
Football hooliganism in England and elsewhere is intriguing, and since the late
1960s has developed into a phenomenon that bears at least some resemblance to the
development of gang behavior in the United States (Dunning et al. 1988; Murphy et al.
1990; Giulianotti 1993; Wallace 1996). Both phenomenon focus on working-class
juveniles and young adults who are involved in a wide variety of criminal acts, including;
violent crimes, property crimes, drug offenses, and conspiracies. Further, both forms of
behavior have a variety of motives which make it difficult to define the acts as being
primarily instrumental or expressive. Rather than trying to struggle at gaining insight
about football hooliganism through a relatively simplistic dichotomy of motives, it may
well be more fruitful to approach the motives of such behavior from a different angle, one
used to try and understand the developing subculture of youth gangs in the United States.
Back in 1955 Albert Cohen wrote Delinquent Boys: The Culture of the Gang in an
attempt to understand and explain the reasons why lower-class youths in the United States
developed subcultures where they committed delinquent acts, especially in group
formations. He maintained that the delinquent acts of the subculture are premised on
maliciousness, negativism, non-utilitarianism, and group autonomy (Cohen 1955). These

6
While studies have been done on groups of hooligans in a number of countries, the vast majority have
focused on those in Britain, especially England.

8
descriptions about subcultural delinquency are not unlike the mix of motives for
hooliganism.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

Even with the pervasiveness of hooliganism in most football playing nations,
there is a dearth of criminologically-informed research on this form of criminality. Part of
what makes hooliganism a unique set of criminal activities is the fact that it is context
specific. Without an attachment to football, hooligans would not be unlike any other
group of delinquents. There is even less research designed to address the etiology of
hooligan behavior in terms of criminological theory.
The purpose of the present inquiry is to look at the origins of modern English
hooliganism in the late 1960s and find an explanation for this behavior through the use of
Albert K. Cohen's theory of subcultural delinquency. The project will test Cohen's theory
as an explanatory factor of hooliganism using data from West and Farrington's
longitudinal data set, the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development.

9
 CHAPTER II
THE GENESIS OF FOOTBALL AND HOOLIGANISM

Football hooliganism encompasses a wide array of criminal behaviors that could

take place in any setting, but the context of football is what differentiates hooligan
activities from other forms of criminality. Ever since the modern sport developed in the
late 1800s, spectators have brought an enthusiasm and excitement to the game which has
become the catalyst for ardent support as well as hooliganism. In order to understand the
importance of football as a context for potential criminality, it is essential to understand
how the modern sport of football developed.

2.1 The Development of Modern Football

The theme of the 1996 European Championships in England was "the game
returns home", inferring that the game of football originated in England. The modern
form of football did indeed emerge in England, but there is some question as to where the
game originated. Football's history in England dates back hundreds of years; however,
until the mid-19th century the game of football only faintly resembled the modern
international sport.7 This early ancestor of modern football is identified as 'folk football'.

7
Elias & Dunning (1986) maintain that football in England can be reliably traced back to the 1300s,
even though there is some evidence to show that the game has been around even longer. Taylor (1971)
indicates that the game's history extends to the 10th and 11th centuries.

10
Games were played during a number of special occasions, especially on religious holidays
like Shrove Tuesday and Saints' Days. Folk football was a truly communal game,
everyone from masons and drapers to clergy were involved in games, and women were
encouraged to participate (Taylor 1971; Elias and Dunning 1986; Jones 1986; Canter,
Comber, and Uzzell 1989).8 These games often involved entire communities, with
villagers from different townships competing against one another.9 The result was a game
that more closely resembled a battle than an entertaining event played on special
occasions.
The warlike image of the game is due, in part, to the fact that rules were minimal
and based on regional understandings, and that there were no limits on the number of
players, which at times exceeded a thousand (Jones 1986; Dunning 1990; Murphy et al.
1990). As such, folk football was a truly inclusive, communal game with an
indistinguishable line between players and spectators (Giulianotti 1994s). As underscored
by Taylor (1992), "any 'spectating' would have required almost as much involvement as
playing [emphasis in the original]" (p. 6).
Folk football was a relatively violent and emotional game, a game that heightened
in-group solidarity and intensified out-group conflict. Participants often used these games
as a way to settle old scores with some, while strengthening bonds to others. The games
permitted a high degree of physical violence that often resulted in the destruction of
property, injuries, and even death (Taylor 1971; Elias and Dunning 1986; Jones 1986;
Dunning 1990). According to Menke (1975), the anything goes mentality prevailed, as
there were no laws governing how one could take the ball from an opposing player. By
making folk football a ritual part of religious holidays and other celebrations, the game

8
Canter et al. (1989) point out that one of the most anticipated football games in Cross of Scone,
Scotland was the game between the married women and the spinsters.

9
For certain games, both sides were from the same community but represented different occupational or
social groups. One such example was the Shrove Tuesday game in Chester, England where the
community's shoemakers competed against the drapers (Elias & Dunning 1986).

11
provided a formalized outlet for violence and retribution. As stated by Elias and Dunning
(1986:179),
semi-institutionalized fights between local groups arranged on
certain days of the year . . . were a normal part of the traditional
pattern of life in medieval societies. Playing with a football was one
of the ways of arranging such a fight. It was, in fact, one of the
normal annual rituals of these traditional societies.
These ritualized fights were often played out against the same opponents time after time,
because unlike its modern progeny, folk football varied widely by region or even village
(Jones 1986). Variations in the game were the result of local customs and traditions that
were passed on orally from one generation to the next (Elias and Dunning 1986; Dunning
1990; Murphy et al. 1990). Throughout the history of folk football, chaos existed because
the rules were informal and malleable.10
Authorities throughout England disapproved of folk football because of its violent
nature, and because it interfered with more functional pursuits, such as military weaponry
training (especially archery). They attempted to eliminate football through the use of
orders, edicts, and laws that forbid the play of football and other forms of recreation
under pain of imprisonment. According to Dunning (1990), "between 1314 and 1667,
unsuccessful attempts were made by state or local authorities to ban these wild games on
more than 30 occasions" (p. 70). Among the earliest prohibitions was that issued by
Edward II in 1314:
And whereas there is great uproar in the City [London], through
certain tumult arising from great footballs in the fields of the public,
from which many evils perchance may arise - which may God
forbid - we do command and do forbid, on the King's behalf, upon
pain of imprisonment, that such game shall be practised henceforth
within the city. (Elias and Dunning 1986:175-176)

10
The most notable incident of this type occurred in 1823 when William Webb Ellis of Rugby carried
the football, an action which inadvertently led to the creation of rugby football. During this time "it was
still not established whether the ball could be handled or not" (Canter et al. 1989:xiv).

12
Although numerous other proscriptions were introduced throughout England, all were
relatively futile. Even in the face of fines, corporal punishment, and imprisonment, people
continued to play football. The result was a "recurrent tug-of-war between the people who
clung to their violent customs and the authorities who tried to suppress or to change
them" (Elias and Dunning 1986:178).
By the mid-1800s, folk football was in decline, but the game had been assimilated
by the public schools in England.11 By incorporating football into the schools, the game
became a preserve of society's upper classes (Pratt and Salter 1984). During this period,
the game of football underwent a myriad of changes, the most significant of which was
the formalization of the rules. Such formalization was primarily undertaken by each of
the English public schools during the period from 1845 to 1862 (Taylor 1971:137). In
1863 football's rules were standardized, and were subsequently adopted by the newly
founded English Football Association (FA) (Taylor 1971; Dunning et al. 1982; Taylor
1992).12 The founding of the FA and adoption of a standardized set of rules forever
changed the way football was to be played.
The organization of football in England also affected the relationship between
football and the communities in which it was played. For the first time, a large majority of
the community was officially relegated to the role of spectator, a group who was expected
to play only a passive role in the game. The development and implementation of modern
football left most people without an opportunity to directly participate in the game,
though as Taylor (1992) maintained, "somehow football spectators always remained in a
highly participatory role" (p. 6).

11
The history of football in England, from its folk traditions to its revitalization in the public schools
during the 1800s, is closely mirrored by the development of the game in Scotland.

12
During the inaugural meeting of the FA (at which the standardized set of rules were adopted) football
and rugby were officially recognized as distinctly different sports, the former prohibiting the handling of
the ball and the latter embracing the handling of the ball (Taylor 1992). Those preferring rugby football
formed the Rugby Football Union in 1871 (Dunning 1990).

13
2.2 The Enduring Problem of English Football Hooliganism
Football has become a significant part of the social and cultural fabric of everyday
life for many people throughout the world. Enthusiasts around the globe identify with and
follow the progress of their local, regional and national teams. Some societies, especially
those in Europe and South America, have become so deeply immersed in football culture
that the game and its supporters have taken on a quasi-religious character (Murphy et al.
1990; Bale 1991). The bond between individuals and their football can become so
ritualized, intense, emotional, and consuming that at times these fans appear less like
football supporters and "appear more like temple-goers of a localized religious sect with
international affiliations" (Taylor 1992:185). Loyal football fans will go to great lengths
to watch their favorite teams in action, and do so religiously, even in the United States of
America (Rushin 1995). Commenting on the devotion of football supporters and the
perceived importance of the sport, Bill Shankly, former manager of Liverpool, once
described it in the following terms: "some people believe football is a matter of life and
death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more
important than that." Although attempting to overstate the case, he accurately depicts the
ritualized intensity and emotionality that football spectators exhibit at matches.
Fan participation at football matches often resembles an emotional roller coaster,
starting with eager anticipation, anxiety, or apathy and culminating in revelry, relief,
frustration, or anger. Unfortunately, fan participation at football matches has been taken a
step further; fans become exuberant about success, lament failure, and have the capacity
to turn any match into a veritable bloodbath. These violent and destructive episodes may
be a response to the play of their team(s), but more often they are the result of individual
and/or group desires to engage in deviant, delinquent, or even criminal behavior. These
acts of violence and destruction, regardless of form or seriousness, are labeled as football
hooliganism.
Football hooliganism at its best is relatively innocuous, while at its worst, the
result can be death and mass destruction. Although the problem of hooliganism afflicts
almost all football playing nations, it is considered to be most problematic in Europe,

14
specifically England. Pundits commonly refer to hooliganism as "the English disease,"
and the collective view is that football fans in England are "a bellicose, xenophobic,
nationalistic bunch" (Beecher 1994:23). Because of tragedies like the Bradford fire of
1985, the 1985 wall collapse at Heysel, the crushing deaths of 95 spectators at
Hillsborough in 1989, the 1995 “un”friendly between England and Ireland in Dublin, and
numerous other lesser known incidents, English fans have been hung with monikers like
"the world's worst fans," "English thugs," and "football louts".
Hooliganism has been a fixture of English football matches since the end of the
1800s, yet until the 1960s, any discussion of hooliganism was limited to FA reports and
newspaper articles (Murphy, Dunning, and Williams 1988). Based on extensive research
into these accounts, Dunning et al. (1988) found that prior to the First World War, crowd
disturbances were a regular occurrence at matches. During this period (1880 to 1914), the
predominant forms of spectator misconduct included: "(1) verbal misconduct and
disorder; (2) pitch invasions, encroachments and demonstrations; (3) physical violence
and assault" (Dunning et al. 1988:50). Most of the disorder during this period was
directed toward officials and players, rather than toward other onlookers.13
Hooliganism began to taper off after the First World War and remained low
during the inter-war period (1919 to 1939) (Murphy et al. 1990). The spectator
misbehavior which existed in this era became more infrequent and innocuous than that
encountered in the previous era. While there were periodic episodes of serious crowd
misconduct during this period, in general the crowd "appears to have grown more
respectable and to have adhered more to what was deemed appropriate spectating"
(Maguire 1986:229).
English football experienced a resurgence of interest immediately following the
Second World War, a trend that continued until the late 1950s. Attendance reached its
zenith during this period, with an average annual attendance of 33 million during the

13
Spectators actions were quite often reactionary to the events taking place on the field. As Wagg
(1984) mentions, "pitch invasions were frequent in the early years of the League . . . usually precipitated by
a decision by the referee which had gone against the home team" (p. 15). Intra-crowd fighting occurred
during this era, but was less common than other forms of crowd disorder (Maguire 1986).

15
1950s. Hooliganism remained at relatively low rates during this period, especially when
compared to levels of crowd disorder prior to the First World War. As Walvin (1986)
points out, "there were incidents of disorderly behavior in the late 1940s and 1950s, but
they were few and were unusual" (p. 50). This era is often described as the "golden age"
of football because of the high levels of attendance and perception of limited
hooliganism, especially in the early part of the era.14
During the 1950s, rates of attendance declined and there was an increase in the
amount of spectator disorder, both in rates and in actual numbers (Dunning et al. 1988).
The concern about hooliganism and actual football violence continued to escalate into the
1960s, each feeding off the other. As explained by Dunning et al. (1982), "the moral
panic [was] leading to an increase in the rate of football hooliganism and the increase of
football hooliganism intensifying the moral panic" (p. 152). By the mid-1960s,
hooliganism reached "epidemic proportions," and became a cause for national concern;
however, it wasn't until England was to host the 1966 World Cup Finals that the situation
"became a self-perpetuating social problem" (Dunning et al. 1988).
The current era of football hooliganism is the result of the problems incurred
during the 1960s, especially since the 1966 World Cup Finals in England. This assertion
is confirmed by Hobbs and Robins (1991:565) study,
all of our respondents located 1966-7 as the season when 'the boys',
inbred with youth culture, and exhilarated by England's victory in
the World Cup, institutionalized soccer violence.
Unlike previous eras, the hooliganism produced in the 1960s and continuing today is
more heavily reliant on fights between fans of opposing teams that occur before, during,
and after matches both inside and outside football stadia (Maguire 1986; Dunning et al.
1988). This modern era of hooliganism also differs from previous eras because the

14
According to incident reports made to the FA between 1946 and 1959, there was a significant amount
of hooliganism, but at levels lower than those found prior to World War I. According to Murphy et al.
(1990), "spectator disorderliness [during this period] seems then to have been substantially under-reported
by the media" (p. 79). The media's under-representation of the problem is what Murphy et al.
(1988) refer to as de-amplification.

16
hooligan crew (gang) has become the primary source of delinquent activities at and
around football matches. Prior to the modern era, most hooliganism took the form of
individual activities that spontaneously grew into more serious forms of crowd disorder.
During the 1960s, new bands of youth began to regularly appear at football
matches, the most important of which was the burgeoning attendance of skinheads. These
deviants and delinquents began to frequent football matches in the late 1960s after
newspapers began reporting that football grounds were havens for violence and
misbehavior (Pratt and Salter 1984; Williams et al. 1986; Dunning et al. 1988). The
skinheads were not as interested in the game as they were in the opportunity to engage in
interpersonal violence, and they have affected the form that hooliganism has taken during
the modern era in several ways. First, the behavior at matches became even more violent
and destructive. Second, football ends became more organized and had higher levels of
solidarity. Third, there was a more passionate fight for territorial rights, and finally,
football hooliganism spread "not only to railway stations and the immediate vicinity of
[the] grounds, but also to city centers and beyond" (Williams et al. 1986:370). The
changes caused by groups of skinheads led to the evolution of the hooligan crew, a
feature of hooliganism that continues to guide its development.

2.3 Current Status of the Problem

Attendance at matches began to steadily decline as the problem of hooliganism
began to escalate in the 1960s, a trend that continued until gates bottomed out in the mid-
1980s.15 During this low point in English football attendance, 20 to 25 percent of people
admitted that the threat of violence was the main reason they were not attending football
matches (Canter et al. 1989). Even though the threat of hooliganism still exists, people's
aversion to the problem seems to have faded, with gates rising steadily since the 1987/8
season (Butler 1996). Additionally, the number of match arrests has fallen continuously

15
While potential violence is a significant reason why some are discouraged from attending football
matches, there is a minority who attend matches because such a potential exists.

17
since the 1992/3 season (Electronic Telegraph 8 August 1996). For some, this news
builds confidence that the specter of hooliganism is fading, unfortunately hooliganism
remains a significant problem at and around matches.16
Despite the best efforts of administrators, public officials, researchers, and agents
of social control, the problem of hooliganism continues to plague football matches
throughout England, no matter what precautions are taken. Suggestions have come from
all quarters, from official governmental reports to observations by the general public, but
most proposals are never implemented (Lewis and Scarisbrick-Hauser 1994). In recent
years, recommendations have included a national ID card system, the use of surveillance
technologies (especially security cameras), prohibiting the attendance of visiting team
supporters, and the removal of standing terraces. Of the recommendations that are
actually implemented, few have effectively deterred hooligan behavior. In certain cases,
implemented policies have created more hooligan problems than they have solved.17
In addition to proposals that focus on changing the physical conditions of stadia,
especially as they relate to spectating, the problem has also been addressed as a situation
ripe for more extensive law enforcement. To this end, England created a special law
enforcement unit, the National Football Intelligence Unit (NFIU), designed for the sole
purpose of monitoring and tracking known hooligans. The NFIU is designed to eliminate
the hooligan factor from domestic and international matches at home and abroad, through
a program of high-tech monitoring, identification, and intervention (Armstrong and
Hobbs 1994; Taylor 1995; Winter, Davies, and Butcher 1995). The NFIU works closely
with the FA and individual football clubs, as well as local and international police forces,
in an attempt to contain and eliminate the threat of hooliganism. These techniques and

16
Match arrests are an inexact measure of the amount of hooliganism that occurs during matches since
they provide no details about the amount of hooliganism which does not result in apprehension. At the
same time, this is often the most unobtrusive measure on the level of hooliganism occurring at any given
time or location.

17
One example is the implementation of hooligan fencing, which began as early as 1963 (Murphy et al.
1990). Hooligan fences were designed to segment the crowd and keep fans off the pitch (field). These
fences were used until 1989, when 95 people were crushed to death against hooligan fencing at the
beginning of the Liverpool-Nottingham Forest FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough in Sheffield.

18
policies have aided the NFIU in their response to the problem. As the head of the
National Criminal Intelligence Service's (NCIS) football unit stated,
the results are a credit to the police service nationally and show that
the close co-operation among football intelligence officers continues
to pay dividends. Intelligence remains the key to cracking the
menace of hooliganism. (Electronic Telegraph 8 August 1996)
In the continuing attempt to expunge hooligans from matches, Police Intelligence Units
have appeared throughout Europe (Hobbs and Robins 1991).
Many of the projects undertaken to eliminate hooliganism have been largely
unsuccessful, but politicians, agents of social control, and football functionaries alike
continue their quest to eliminate the problem. Their attempts support the contention that
football hooliganism is a dangerous problem which may detrimentally effect the social
order of English society. According to others, the actions of football hooligans are a
reflection and magnification of existent social problems (Taylor 1971; Clarke 1978; Hall
1978). As such, the problem of football hooliganism has to be solved by the elimination
of societal ills. Regardless of one's position on the link between hooliganism and society,
it is important to understand the underlying causes of such behavior so that the
phenomenon can be dealt with most effectively.

19
 CHAPTER III
INVESTIGATING HOOLIGANISM CRIMINOLOGICALLY

3.1 The Criminological Import of Hooliganism

The bulk of research on football hooliganism focuses on how the problem has
evolved over the past 30 years in Britain. The phenomenon has been analyzed from a
wide variety of academic disciplines, such as: (1) psychology, including environmental,
mass, and social psychologies; (2) economics and finance; (3) anthropology; and (4)
sociology, including the sociology of sport, social and cultural change, and popular
culture. Conspicuously absent from these dominant perspectives is work that addresses
the problem from the perspective of criminology, a need identified as early as 1980 by
Eugene Trivizas.
The few researchers who consciously approach the topic from a criminological
point of view tend to focus on providing details on the extensive nature of hooliganism,
how it is a form of criminal behavior, and the effectiveness of crowd control activities.
Trivizas (1980, 1984) used arrest reports from police stations in the London metropolitan
area to analyze the amount and type of hooligan arrests which occurred at football
matches, the characteristics of offenders, and to develop a typology of hooligan offenses.
In a separate article, Trivizas (1981) compared the form and length of sentencing for
convicted hooligans to the sentences received by individuals found guilty of similar
offenses in non-football related contexts.

20
 In contrast, Lewis (1982) looked at how English police attempt to maintain order
and control in football's terraces18 and found that police are generally able to control
crowds in an effective and often non-lethal manner. The work of Hobbs and Robins
(1991) is important, in part because they examine football hooliganism as a form of
deviant/delinquent behavior and began to highlight the criminological relevance of the
topic.19
Recent studies by Giulianotti (1994t), Armstrong and Hobbs (1994), and Stott and
Reicher (1998) have focused on procedures and policies used by police in trying to
control hooliganism. Stott and Reicher's (1998) main point is that some events potentially
labeled as hooliganism are the result of inter-group definitions and understandings of
people and situations. In contrast, Armstrong and Hobbs and Giulianotti focus on covert
police operations against football hooligans. Many of these undercover operations have
run into legal difficulties as a result of police procedures and subsequent reductions in
charges to ensure convictions (Armstrong and Hobbs 1994; Giulianotti 1994t).
These studies demonstrate that English football hooliganism is recognized as an
appropriate topic for criminological investigation, yet they provide little more than
evidence about the character, scope and difficulties of the problem. Other non-
criminological studies also allude to the fact that the phenomena has a criminological
component, and some have gone so far as to suggest explanations which include elements
of long-standing criminological theories, especially those focusing on subcultural
explanations of delinquency (see the work of the Leicester school, particularly Dunning,
Murphy, and Williams). Unfortunately, this corpus of work fails to provide a concise
empirical examination of criminological theory in the explanation of English football
hooliganism. Bridging this gap in our knowledge of football hooliganism is the impetus

18
Terraces are generally sloped or tiered concrete areas where fans stand during football matches. Until
recently, terraces were a predominant feature of English football grounds, especially behind the end lines.

19
Some authors, including the Leicester group (Dunning, Williams, Murphy, and Waddington), have
briefly discussed the criminological aspects of hooliganism, but few have made a concerted effort to
address it as a criminological phenomenon.

21
for my dissertation. More specifically, my dissertation will attempt to show how Albert
Cohen's strain-based subcultural theory of delinquency can be used to explain the
behavior of modern football hooligans in England.

3.2 The Theoretical Basis of the Dissertation

3.2.1 A Brief Summary of the Development of Strain Theory
Strain (anomie) theories of delinquent and criminal behavior have an extensive
history, dating back to the work of Emile Durkheim in the 1890s, primarily in The
Division of Labor in Society and Suicide. Durkheim's pioneering work on the conditions
that produce strain influenced a host of criminological theorists, including Robert Merton
(1938), Albert Cohen (1955), Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960), and Robert
Agnew (1992). Strain-based theories of crime and delinquency claim that strain is
produced when individuals are unable to achieve the legitimate goals held by society, a
condition that motivates certain individuals to engage in illicit activities. Where the
numerous strain theories differ is in their explanation of the conditions that produce
strain, the types of societal goals, and the form(s) of adaptation taken by the individuals
experiencing strain.

3.2.2 The Development of Subcultural Theories

In the 1950s criminological theory started moving in a new direction, one which
was to alter the focus of explanations of crime causation, at least temporarily. One aspect
of this paradigm shift was a move away from the study of adult criminality and a renewed
and identifiable interest in juvenile delinquency (Gibbons 1994; Morrison 1995). The set
of theories responsible for the change made explicit in their aims what had previously
been accepted as implicit understandings or assumptions. Discussed in these new theories
of delinquency were beliefs that:
1. crime was primarily an urban problem;

22
 2. individuals from disadvantaged positions in the social structure committed
a disproportionate amount of crime;
3. most delinquency was committed by males; and
4. delinquency occurs most frequently in the setting of a group.
These theories were classified as subcultural theories of delinquency because they
focused on the origin, development, and activities of delinquent subcultural forms.
Subcultural theories regarded urban juvenile gangs to be the defining, but not sole,
formation of delinquent subcultures (Shoemaker 1996).
The key assumption made manifest in subcultural theories is a belief that
delinquency is primarily a lower-class male phenomenon.20 For subcultural theories class
status was measured by a variety of social and economic factors, including; father's
occupation, income, education and training. The classist assumption of delinquency is
based on the idea that members of the lower-class experience more impediments to
societally defined measures of success than do those of higher social status, especially in
terms of educational and occupational opportunities. The existence of multiple, and often
competing, value systems within society interferes with lower-class individuals' ability to
achieve success; accordingly, the lower-class teaches and promotes attitudes and
expectations which are, at times, incompatible with "legitimate" methods for goal
attainment. Some individuals struggle to make sense of the contradictions, while others
accept their fate of continued lower-class status. A certain proportion of lower-class
youths attempt to gain status and achieve success in the eyes of their peers by taking
advantage of available illegitimate opportunities. The adolescents who take advantage of,
or have access to, illegitimate opportunities often become involved with similar others,
thus creating or perpetuating delinquent subcultures.
Subcultural theories of delinquency continually tried to show that delinquency
was an activity primarily performed by a group or gang of adolescents, the idealized

20
Shoemaker (1996) rightly points out that for some subcultural theorists the terms working-class and
lower-class were used interchangeably. I will use both terms in the same manner since the literature on
football hooliganism prefers the term working-class and subcultural theories generally employ the term
lower-class. Both terms are used to describe people occupying the lower rungs of the social class structure.

23
representation of the delinquent subculture. If the youths were to act alone, their
behaviors were thought to be "strongly influenced by groups, gangs, peers, and the
general ambience of their lives and associations" (Shoemaker 1996:103). These theories
proposed that existent subcultures of delinquency were not identical, but varied in terms
of content and etiology (Cohen & Short 1958).
Subcultural theories of delinquency are often described as being primarily a
derivation of the social structure and anomie (SS&A) tradition in criminological theory.
Although to characterize this set of theories as simply an extension of the anomie
perspective is to misrepresent them. Each subcultural theory of delinquency in the 1950s
and 1960s was really an effort to make sense of divergent theories of crime causation.
Their link to the tradition of anomie is the result of their collective perception that
opportunities for success are differentially distributed throughout the social structure.
While there is some common ground between the causal explanations of subcultural and
social structure and anomie theories, subcultural theories are not simply an outgrowth of
this one paradigm. Subcultural theories have also attempted to integrate the
criminological theories of the Chicago School, including ecological and cultural
transmission theories (Williams and McShane 1994; Merton 1995; Lanier and Henry
1998). The result of these different influences is an attempt at integration which focuses
on how young adults attempt to achieve success by using illicit means when societally-
approved means are unavailable. More specifically, subcultural theories are a look at the
type of delinquent subcultures created or entered into by adolescents experiencing strain
as a result of unattainable success and the influence these subcultures have upon
individuals affiliated with them.

3.2.3 The Prominent Subcultural Theories

There were many theoretical statements in the 1950s and early 1960s that fit into
the subcultural delinquency paradigm, including: Miller (1958), Short and Strodbeck
(1965), and Wolfgang and Ferracuti (1967), but it was the work of Cohen (1955) and
Cloward and Ohlin (1960) that came to typify this school of thought. Cohen's theory of

24
subcultural delinquency and Cloward and Ohlin's theory of differential opportunity
remain the most widely recognized forms of subcultural theories (Shoemaker 1996). Both
theories reflect similar influences, the structural causes of stain as proposed by Merton's
anomie theory, and the interactional influence of peers outlined in Sutherland's theory of
differential association (Cohen 1983). Cloward and Ohlin were also able to reflect upon
and critique Cohen's theory of subcultural delinquency in the formulation of their theory
of differential opportunity (Cohen 1983; Merton 1995). Cohen and Cloward and Ohlin
both attempt to bridge the theoretical gap between anomie and differential association by
looking at the types of delinquent subcultures created by youthful members of the lower-
class who are unable to achieve goals through the use of legitimate means (Merton 1995).
These two subcultural theories are linked by more than just their common
influences, but the differences between them are also readily recognizable and set the two
apart. The primary distinction between Cohen's subcultural delinquency theory and
Cloward and Ohlin's theory of differential opportunity is their ideas about the availability,
nature, and organization of the delinquent subculture(s). Albert Cohen was the first to
identify the existence of delinquent subcultures, and his interest was in explaining why
delinquent subcultures existed (Akers 1994). In Delinquent Boys he went beyond
explaining the existence of delinquent subcultures by characterizing their composition
and the motivations for their illicit activities. Cohen asserted that delinquent subcultures
were malicious, negativistic, non-utilitarian units that were versatile in terms of the types
of delinquencies they committed and were guided by short-run hedonism and group
autonomy (Cohen 1955).
In contrast, Cloward and Ohlin (1960) argued that opportunities, legitimate and
illegitimate, were unequally distributed in society, and that as a result not everyone had
access to either of them. While Cohen only described the existence of delinquent
subcultures in general terms, Cloward and Ohlin went further, proposing that there were
three distinct types of delinquent subcultures; criminal, conflict, and retreatist. Each of
these subcultural forms was defined by the type of illegitimate opportunity structure that
was available to young lower-class males. The criminal subculture was the most complex

25
and financially profitable, with a network of interdependence and interaction created
between adult criminal role models and aspiring criminal youth. In contrast, conflict
subcultures used violence to secure status and success; however, this subcultural form
provided few long-term opportunities for the acquisition of criminal or conventional
status. The retreatist subculture was the most accessible of the three, and while it did not
provide opportunities for advancement, it provided a way to escape through the use of
drugs and alcohol.
In general, subcultural theories of delinquency are of great interest in the
criminological study of English football hooliganism because of their emphasis on the
assumptions that most delinquency occurs within groups and that delinquency is
primarily a phenomenon engaged in by lower-class males. More specifically, the
development of football hooliganism as delinquent behavior in England closely parallels
the line of reasoning developed by the subcultural theories of Cohen and of Cloward and
Ohlin, especially because of their integration of strain and cultural transmission theories.
The rise of hooligan crews in the 1960s and 1970s signifies the development of a
delinquent subculture, one that revolves around the variety of delinquent behavior that is
primarily committed by gangs of lower-class males, who are, at times, unable to achieve
middle-class standards of status and success (Clarke 1978; Williams, Dunning, and
Murphy 1989; Dunning 1994; King 1997). To this point, either Cohen's or Cloward and
Ohlin's theories would provide legitimate explanations for why hooliganism occurs, but
there are a number of reasons why Cohen's theory of subcultural delinquency is the better
choice.
Cohen's theory of subcultural delinquency does not postulate that society's goals
revolve around monetary gain, an aspect of hooligan activities that is non-existent.21 A
second reason for choosing Cohen's theory is that his primary goal was to explain the
development of delinquent subcultures, and during the late 1960s and early 1970s

21
In the past 5 to 10 years a few hooligans have profited monetarily from their behavior in a football
context. A few have published books chronicling their hooliganism over the years, including Allan (1989)
and Ward (1989). A few have also turned, in recent years, to dealing drugs in order to obtain a profit from
their ties (e.g. Armstrong 1998). All in all, these examples represent the exceptions to the rule.

26
hooliganism was dominated by the creation of football fighting crews. In their early
manifestations these hooligan crews were similar in development to the street gangs
developing in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s (Dunning et al. 1988;
Giulianotti 1993; Wallace 1996). Cloward and Ohlin focus more on the availability of
opportunities and availability of particular subcultural patterns.
Third, English football hooligan crews do not fit well within any of the types of
delinquent subcultures identified by Cloward and Ohlin. In contrast, Cohen's theory only
attempts to characterize the attributes of delinquent subcultures, making it easier to
compare theory and actual delinquent formations cross-culturally. He makes the point that
what he proposes may be useful in explaining adolescent gangs in societies that are
structurally similar to the United States (1955).
Finally, Cohen's theory is one of the only subcultural theories of delinquency that
explains why individuals exit from deviance (Shoemaker 1996), a process that is well-
identified in the literature on hooliganism. Those who step away from football
hooliganism generally age out of active service to the crew, but may retain status and
importance to the group by becoming a "daddy of the ends" (Marsh 1982). As a result,
Albert Cohen's theory of subcultural delinquency is the theoretical perspective employed
in this criminological investigation of English football hooliganism.

3.3 Making Use of Cohen's Theory of Subcultural Delinquency

3.3.1 Basis of the Theory
In Delinquent Boys: The Culture of the Gang (1955), Albert Cohen identified a
gap in existing theories of crime and delinquency, one which persuaded him to explore
why it was that adolescents engaged in forms of criminality that bared little resemblance
to their adult counterparts. He argued that Merton's theory of anomie was good at
describing adult forms of criminality because the goal of such activities was primarily
that of monetary success. In contrast to adult crime, Cohen perceived juvenile
delinquency to be less focused, less profit-oriented, more destructive, and most

27
importantly, committed in groups, thus less capable of being explained by individualistic
anomie theories. It was the group nature of delinquency which most intrigued Cohen, and
led him to theorize that this form of criminality arose in what he termed "the delinquent
subculture". Unfortunately, theories of cultural transmission, especially Sutherland's
theory of differential association, were of little help in explaining the delinquent
subculture because such theories take the subculture as, "something which already exists
in the environment of the child" (Cohen 1955:18). Theoretically Cohen attempts to fuse
and build upon these incongruous structural and interactional theories of criminality by
developing the theory of the delinquent subculture. This development led him to propose
two distinct questions:
1. "Why does [the delinquent subculture] have the particular content that it
does and why is it distributed as it is within our social system?" (Cohen
1955:18), and
2. "How is it possible for cultural innovations [subcultures] to emerge while
each of the participants in the culture is so powerfully motivated to
conform to what is already established?" (Cohen 1955:59).
From these queries Cohen began to build a general theory of subcultures which
recognized that while structural forces may help create and sustain subcultures (cultural
innovations), their emergence is also dependent upon the collective action of individuals.
Cohen asserted that human action revolved around efforts to solve problems, and that
when one's solutions (which are based on their existing beliefs and values) are not
accepted by their existent reference group they experience alienation/strain (1955:50-58).
The attempt to alleviate this strain requires the actors to choose between two solutions:
(1) defer to their existent reference group(s) or (2) search for a social milieu where others
are experiencing similar problems of adjustment. The first scenario isn't really a solution
since the individuals set aside their needs (alleviation of strain) for the good of the group.
When individuals in the later category find others experiencing the same difficulties and
recognize that, together, they can profit from their shared problems, new cultural forms
(subcultures) will begin to emerge. As Cohen (1955) asserts, these subcultures are

28
"continually being created, re-created and modified wherever individuals sense in one
another like needs, generated by like circumstances, not shared generally in the larger
social system" (p. 65).
These subcultures are deviant, delinquent, and possibly even criminal because the
solutions they propose are not condoned by the majority of the society. Cohen's general
theory of subcultures was exemplified by the emergence and persistence of gangs,
becoming the embodiment of his subcultural theory of delinquency. The importance of
the gang cannot be overstated since the delinquency performed by the group is also
perceived to be a creation of the group (Cohen 1955).

3.3.2 The Theoretical Influence of Merton and Sutherland

Even though Merton's theory of anomie and Sutherland's theory of differential
association were perceived to be deficient as explanations of typical forms of juvenile
delinquency, each provided Cohen with material for his own theory of delinquency. From
Merton's theory, and the social structure and anomie perspective in general, Cohen
adopted the idea that maladaptive strain was produced by "the disjunction between
culturally induced aspirations and structurally confined access to opportunities for
realizing those aspirations" (Merton 1995:43-44). From this structuralist proposition,
Cohen maintained that "these problems are largely problems of status and self-respect
arising among working-class children as a result of socially structured inability to meet
the standards of the established culture" (Cohen & Short 1958:20). Further, while the
sources of strain are socially created, the resultant strain created by these sources is
experienced individually.
Cohen concurred with Merton on the idea that the causes of strain were of a
structural origin and that they were, in turn, the cause of deviance and delinquency. The
source of disagreement between the two theorists stemmed from Cohen's rejection of the
solutions Merton proposed for individuals who experience strain. He took exception to
the idea that

29
 each person seems to work out his solution by himself, as though it
did not matter what other people were doing. Perhaps Merton
assumed such intervening variables as deviant role models, without
going into the mechanics of them. But it is one thing to assume that
such variables are operating; it is quite another to treat them
explicitly in a way that is integrated with the more general theory.
(Cohen 1965:7)
He proposed that problems of adjustment are most often solved by groups whose
members share the same problems. For young members of the lower-class, the solution
was delinquency, most of which occurred and was created within the context of the
delinquent subculture. The delinquent subculture provided them with "an alternative
status system and justifies, for those who participate in it, hostility and aggression against
the sources of their status frustration" (Cohen and Short 1958:20). Although disagreeing
with Merton's conception of the effects strain may have on the individual, Cohen was still
powerfully influenced by the concepts of strain and opportunity structures.
While making use of the ideas provided by the social structure and anomie
perspective, these ideas were merged with Sutherland's theoretical developments in
cultural transmission. Cohen was intrigued by Sutherland's concept of differential
association, which proposed that delinquency was learned from one's associates through a
process of social interaction. He incorporated the concept of differential association into
his theory of subcultural delinquency, using it to explain how behavior was contrived in
subcultures and why they persisted. This theoretical construct allowed him to claim that
deviant as well as non-deviant behavior is typically not contrived
within the solitary individual psyche, but is a part of collaborative
social activity, in which the things that other people say and do give
meaning, value and effect to one's own behavior. (Cohen 1965:8)
Yet a gap existed in the explanation of the delinquent subculture, and neither anomie nor
differential association were able to explain how subcultures originate.
This deficiency was addressed by applying Sutherland's paradigm in a new way,
one that Sutherland alluded to in the 1947 edition of Principles of Criminology.

30
Sutherland "had sensed that the emergence of delinquent behavior patterns was not simply
the result of cultural transmission but involved a process of social interaction [emphasis
in the original]" (Merton 1995:36). Cohen applied this knowledge in a concise manner,
focusing on idea that delinquency emerged when individuals with similar problems
interacted in a way that facilitated the development of collective solutions. More
specifically, his theory "emphasizes the role played in the genesis of delinquency, in the
'choice of symptom,' by accessibility to association with others in search of a solution to
their problems of adjustment" (Cohen 1955:154). The resultant theory of subcultural
delinquency proposed that certain individuals will experience strain, some of whom will
interact with others experiencing similar strains. Those interactions produce collective
solutions to their shared problems, some of which will be delinquent. These delinquent
solutions can then be passed on, culturally transmitted, to future individuals experiencing
similar problems.

3.3.3 Delinquent Subcultures - Emergence and Continuation22

Albert Cohen's subcultural theory of delinquency focuses on the emergence of
delinquent subcultures (gangs), especially those which develop in lower-class
neighborhoods as a result of strain. This subcultural theory is premised by the idea that
one's social class identity determines the values, standards, and styles that children learn
during early socialization (prior to enrollment in school) (Cohen 1955:85-88). Lower-
class values teach children to have realistic expectations; to be aggressive, spontaneous,
yet obedient; and to focus on the present. In contrast, middle-class values promote -
ambition, individual responsibility, academic and occupational achievement, foresight
and planned action, etiquette, self-control, and respect for property. Although values vary
as a result of social class position, children of both classes are instilled with the
"appropriate" values by family and community, institutions shaped by the types of values
they promote to the younger generations.

22
This section discusses key points of the theory of subcultural delinquency that were developed in
Cohen's 1955 book Delinquent Boys: The Culture of the Gang.

31
 Socialization within classes is differentiated by more than just the types of values
imparted to the children, it also has to do with expectations and the intensity of training.
Cohen believed that socialization is a reflection of the values that were taught. Middle-
class socialization is
conscious, rational, deliberate and demanding. . . . The child is
constantly aware of what his parents want him to be and to
become. . . . Middle-class people are more likely deliberately [trying]
to contrive the child's physical environment, his social milieu and the
budgeting of his time with a view to hastening his socialization in
the middle-class way of life [emphasis in the original]. (Cohen
1955:98)
In contrast, lower-class socialization is perceived to be more easy-going and relaxed, with
children being allowed a great deal of latitude and permissiveness. Parents of working-
class children are less actively involved in their children's socialization, often leaving
their children to their own devices while alone or in the company of young peers. Cohen
(1955) argues that this atmosphere of leniency leaves the child "freer to explore in many
areas forbidden to the middle-class child and to encounter a variety of troubles, scrapes
and personally meaningful problems" (p. 100).
While each social class has its own method for instilling children with the
"appropriate" values, Cohen is quick to point out that the type of socialization provided
does not alter the child's ability to learn. This is, at least in part, an attempt to negate
beliefs that lower-class individuals fail because they are intellectually inferior to their
middle-class counterparts. The net result of early socialization is the provision of a
groundwork which will guide the child as they are exposed to new institutions and forms
of interaction. The most significant training and testing ground for all youths is the school
system.
Prior to being enrolled in school, children are in highly homogeneous social class
groups - lower-class associating with lower-class and middle-class associating with
middle-class. The school is the first institution where children of different social classes
are expected and required to intermix and compete for extended periods of time.

32
According to Cohen, the school system is a middle-class institution, created and run by
individuals of middle-class backgrounds (1955:113-114). Since the school system is
based on middle-class values and beliefs, these are the dominant standards expected of
the children during their tenure in the schools. Everything that the kids do and how they
do it is expected to conform to middle-class standards (i.e. the middle-class measuring
rod). On the surface this could mean nothing, but differential socialization creates distinct
expectations of kids, allowing some to succeed more easily than others in heterogeneous
institutions. For example, lower-class children have been socialized using a set of values
that teaches them to take what you can while it is available (orientation toward the
present). In contrast, the values of the school, and the middle-class in general, are based
on the idea that patience and preparation will get you what you want (orientation toward
the future). Since the school system is dominated by the values and standards of the
middle-class, lower-class children have to unlearn their values and relearn the appropriate
values in a short time in order to be successful in school.
Unlike Merton, Cohen did not equate success with monetary gain, but measured
success as one's ability to gain status and acceptance within the dominant social system.
While individuals are always striving and competing for status, not everyone starts on
equal footing since the dominant social systems are governed by middle-class values
(Cohen 1955:110). Those from the lower-class are most hindered by social handicaps
which are created through differential socialization, and these handicaps interfere with
their ability to succeed. The deficiencies of socialization are most apparent when
members of the lower-class compete for status against members of the middle-class.
Cohen (1955:122) perceived that this inter-class competition is
an important feature of American "democracy," perhaps of the
Western European tradition in general, is the tendency to measure
oneself against "all comers." This means that, for children as for
adults, one's sense of personal worth is at stake in status comparisons
with all other persons, at least of one's own age and sex, whatever
their family background or material circumstances.

33
 These status competitions begin at an early age, and the first and most important
of these competitions takes place in the school system. Like most other social arenas,
lower-class children are at a disadvantage since the school system is dominated by
middle-class standards, meaning that they must adapt to succeed, being assessed by
"middle-class measuring rods". Cohen (1955) argued that the middle-class measuring
rods applied to all students and made it difficult to "reward, however subtly, successful
conformity without at the same time, by implication, condemning and punishing the non-
conformist" (p. 113). Unfortunately, a large proportion of lower-class children are
powerless in the attempt to succeed at school, being unable to cope with, or integrate, the
two competing value systems. Their inability to achieve success in school produces strain,
what Cohen referred to as "problems of adjustment".23 Cohen's perception was that
"problems of adjustment ... are chiefly status problems: certain children are denied status
in the respectable society because they cannot meet the criteria of the respectable status
system" (1955:121).
Not all lower-class children experience the same problems of adjustment while in
school. Some are more capable of making sense of the competing value systems than are
others. Cohen (1955) observed that "the same value system [the middle-class value
system], impinging upon children differently equipped to meet it, is instrumental in
generating both delinquency and respectability" (p. 137). He went on to propose that
lower-class males can make one of three adaptations when experiencing the strain of
competing value systems, all of which are based on the idea of being able to succeed and
gain status in the eyes of those with whom they regularly interact.24 The school system is
where children perceive the status competition most acutely, but status frustration can be

23
Middle-class children are not expected to experience such strains since there is no perceived
contradiction between the values they learn at home and the ones that dominate the school system.

24
According to Cohen, "a person's status, after all, is how he stands in somebody's eyes. Status, then, is
not a fixed property of the person but varies with the point of view of whoever is doing the judging"
(1955:123).

34
experienced in any social institution where one is expected to compete for status and
position.
The most adaptive response works only for those students who can integrate the
two belief systems - the college boy response. The college boy response requires great
effort on the part of lower-class boys because it requires them to accept and work within
the middle-class framework of the school while adhering to the lower-class values used in
the home. These students are able to make sense of the requirements made in the schools
and adapt successfully. They are good students who come to accept the dominant values
of the school system.
The second response is the stable street corner response. Cohen (1955) asserted
that this was the most common adaptation to the problems of adjustment experienced by
lower-class students (128-129). In this case both sets of values (lower-class and middle-
class) are not completely integrated, but the children make the best of a situation they
cannot seem to change. They continue to try in school, even when it looks futile, but they
also make the adaptive response on the street corner. On the streets they have fun and
enjoy each other, while allowing school to be what it is, a means to an end -- life beyond
school, the work world.
The third response to lower-class students' problems of adjustment is referred to
as the delinquent solution. Not unlike the college boy and stable street corner responses,
those using the delinquent response initially aspire to achieve middle-class standards of
success. These individuals begin to experience status frustration because they fail to
measure up to the standards of success "forced" upon them by the middle class measuring
rods of the school system. This inability to attain status in school is exacerbated as "his
repeated failures in the school system, both academically and socially, cause him to reject
the school and the system of values it represents" (Morrison 1995:282). The delinquent
solution is the individual's attempt to alleviate their status frustration (strain) by changing
their values because middle-class values seem unattainable, and therefore worthless
(Cohen 1955:53). This is what he refers to as the process of reaction formation, a hostile

35
overreaction that allows the delinquent to repudiate "the norms of the respectable middle-
class society" (1955:133).
According to Cohen, once lower-class delinquents reject middle-class values, they
begin to seek a peer group or gang that can provide them with a nurturing environment
that will reinforce their anti-social values and norms. The gang that one decides to join is
one that addresses the problems of adjustment they are experiencing, and more
importantly, other members of this subcultural form are also experiencing strains, most
likely from the same source(s). The ability of the gang to provide acceptable solutions to
their shared problems of adjustment is the common ground that allows the delinquent
subcultural form to thrive. By establishing or joining a delinquent subculture, these
individuals are able to create an alternate set of values, ones which will allow them to
succeed, gaining status in the eyes of these same peers. Their adaptive response also
protects them from the problems of not being able to succeed in school or any other arena
where unattainable, middle-class, standards dominate. The assertion is that "orderliness,
amenability to adult supervision and guidance, respect for property, polite speech and
manners, the preference of diplomacy to violence - these are contemptuously spurned by
the new, jointly supported way of life, the delinquent subculture" (Cohen and Short
1966:114-115).
In addition to providing status and improved self-image, the delinquent gang
upend the values of the middle-class; stressing hostility, aggression, malice and
destructiveness. By inverting the values of the middle-class, they guarantee that the
delinquent will hold higher status than even the most exemplary college boy (Cohen
1955:131). The delinquent subculture also allows and encourages the lower-class
delinquent to retaliate against the middle-class values which are perceived to be the
source of their status frustration (strain); accordingly, aggression toward those who apply
and exemplify the norms of respectable society is lauded (Cohen 1955:168). By
extrapolation, those in the delinquent subculture exact revenge against middle-class
standards when laws are broken because the laws embody middle-class values and are
enforced by agents of the middle-class.

36
 Intrigued by the idea that most juvenile delinquency occurred within the context
of the delinquent subculture, Cohen went about trying to identify the content of the
delinquent subculture. His impression was that adult criminality and juvenile delinquency
were not committed for the same reasons, nor were they caused by the same motivations,
so it was important to keep the two separate (Cohen 1955:25). With this in mind, Cohen
proposed that delinquent acts committed within the context of the delinquent subculture
generally adhered to six characteristics.

Non-utilitarianism: Criminal behavior, especially theft, is often done for the hell
of it. Stolen goods are often "discarded, destroyed or casually given away" (Cohen
1955:26).

Malice and hostility: Those in the delinquent subculture enjoy making non-gang
others feel uncomfortable or uneasy by being obnoxious, rude and spiteful (Cohen
1955:27-28). This maliciousness is also exemplified by the wanton destruction of
property.

Negativism: The delinquent subculture inverts the values of respectable society.

"The delinquent's conduct is right, by the standards of his subculture, precisely
because it is wrong by the norms of the larger culture" (Cohen 1955:28).

Versatility: Even though stealing is the primary activity of the delinquent

subculture, these gangs are often involved in a variety of criminal pursuits,
ranging from vandalism to acts of interpersonal aggression.

Short-run hedonism: The activities of the delinquent subculture are done for
immediate gain and gratification. There is little interest in future returns for
present activities. This characterizes the values to which lower-class boys are
socialized, not just the behavior of delinquent gangs.

37

Group autonomy: The gang is the focus of one's loyalty and solidarity, and only
members of the gang are able to regulate its activities. Further, gang members
subordinate their ties to home and to other groups and institutions; consequently,
"relations with other groups tend to be indifferent, hostile or rebellious" (Cohen
1955:31).

These characteristics embody the ideal type of delinquent subculture and motivations for
their activities, and will exist to a greater or lesser extent in any actual delinquent
subcultural form. Even so, the expectation is that delinquent gangs will be involved in
deviance and criminality because it provides lower-class youths with a chance to gain the
status that they were unable to achieve in conventional groups and institutions, especially
in school.

3.4 Attempts to Test Cohen's Theory of Subcultural Delinquency

To this point in time most studies which have attempted to test hypotheses derived
from Cohen's Delinquent Boys have been limited in their scope as well as their findings.
During the 1960s and 1970s there was thorough discussion and testing of subcultural
theories, including Cohen's, but since that time researchers have infrequently touched
upon these theories. In the case of Cohen's theory of subcultural delinquency the vast
majority of these studies were narrowly focused, often testing a single aspect of the theory
-- the relationship between school and delinquency. Specifically these investigations
looked at school in terms of school failure and dropping out (Elliott 1966; Elliott and
Voss 1974; Phillips and Kelly 1979; Thornberry, Moore, and Christenson 1985;
Farrington et al. 1986; Jarjoura 1993) and school-based values and subcultural influence
(Sugarman 1967; Polk 1984). The other, smaller, set of projects looked at the relationship
between social class and delinquency (Elliott 1962, 1966; Reiss and Rhodes 1963; Kelly
and Balch 1990). The purpose of this section is to discuss the findings of these endeavors
and the impact they have on Cohen's theory of subcultural delinquency.

38
3.4.1 The Relationship between School and Delinquency
The largest body of literature concerning the relationship between school and
delinquency focuses on school failure and dropping out of school. While not conceptually
identical, there is an overlapping logic which is expressed within these studies. Cohen's
theory of subcultural delinquency maintains that students who perform poorly in school
are more likely to engage in delinquency than those who perform adequately and
exceptionally. Extrapolating on this proposition these studies maintain that "the act of
leaving school should reduce school-related frustrations and alienation and thereby lower
the motivational stimulus for delinquency" (Elliott 1978:454). Thus the expectation is
that support for Cohen will be garnered if students who drop out have lower levels of
delinquency than they did while still in school.
One of the earliest studies to look at this relationship was done by Delbert Elliott
in 1966. In this study he tests two hypotheses, "1. The rate of delinquency is greater for
boys while in than while out of school. 2. Delinquents who drop out have a higher
delinquency rate while in than while out of school" (Elliott 1966:308). These hypotheses
are designed in an attempt to explore the notion that dropping out of school allows
students to avoid status frustration, a proposition seen to apply equally well to Cohen's
and Cloward and Ohlin's theories.
Elliott finds that status frustration and resultant delinquency among lower-class
boys are minimized when they leave the supposed source of inadequacy. Thus both
hypotheses are supported by the data and roughly support the belief that dropping out may
be a way for lower-class students to eliminate status frustration and decrease the need or
motivation to engage in delinquency, as Cohen's theory would suggest (Elliott 1966).
While based on the research findings of others, Phillips and Kelly (1979) explore
the relationship between school failure and delinquency. They focus on the perception
that success in school is more strongly related to delinquency than even social class.
Phillips and Kelly's primary interest is in exploring the causal ordering of the delinquency
- school failure relationship as it relates to what Cohen theorized. Ultimately they find
that cross-sectional research supports the argument that delinquency rates decline after

39
students leave school, implying that reducing school failure through leaving helps reduce
delinquency (Phillips and Kelly 1979:202). While not conclusive, Phillips and Kelly's
study does concur with Cohen and a host of others that failure in school is an important
factor in the prediction of delinquency.
By far the most influential study on the relationship between school careers and
delinquency was that of Elliott and Voss. This 1974 project addressed the impact of
dropping out on delinquency in a panel study of more than 2000 California youths
throughout their high school careers. Elliott and Voss (1974) collected data on the school
performance, self-reported delinquency and police and court records of the students over
the four year period.
Among their findings, Elliott and Voss find that those students who eventually
drop out have higher rates of delinquency than those that graduate from school (111-113).
"Both the official and the self-reported measures of delinquent behavior support the
conclusion that dropouts have been involved in more delinquent behavior than graduates,
although the differences on the SRD [self-reported delinquency] measure are not nearly
as dramatic as those based on official police contacts" (Elliott and Voss 1974:113). More
importantly, they find that the levels of delinquency for those that drop out decline
subsequent to their dropping out. Therefore support is provided for the argument that
motivation for delinquency decreases upon leaving school because it may reduce
frustration and alienation. Further, Elliott and Voss (1974) find that dropouts who get
married and are employed are at the lowest risk of engaging in delinquency because adult
status can be derived from such involvements (128-129). Thus Voss and Elliott provide
support for Cohen's theory in terms of the important influence school has on delinquent
behavior, especially relating to the effects of dropping out on delinquency. The study also
provides limited support for Cohen’s proposition that status is an important determinant
of success or engagement in delinquent activities.
Thornberry et al. (1985) reconsider the delinquency - dropout relationship in an
attempt to replicate Elliott and Voss. Part of their reason for the study is because
opposing views on the effects of dropping out are provided by strain and control theories.

40
Strain theories, represented by Cohen and Cloward and Ohlin, maintain that dropping out
of school reduces frustration and therefore delinquency, while control theories,
epitomized by Hirschi, contend that dropping out of school reduces control over youth,
allowing them to more freely engage in greater amounts of delinquency.
Using longitudinal data from the Philadelphia cohorts study collected by
Wolfgang, Thornberry et al. (1985) attempt to clarify which of the theoretical predictions
about the dropout - delinquency relationship is more accurate. They argue that, in contrast
to Elliott and Voss (1974), their study does not show a subsequent drop off in
delinquency following dropping out, as would be predicted by strain theories. When
controlling for social class and race, their analysis "indicates that dropping out is not
followed by a substantial reduction in criminal involvement" (Thornberry et al. 1985:15).
So while their research fails to support the theoretical ideas of Cohen and Cloward and
Ohlin about the effect of dropping out on delinquency, they are unwilling to dismiss the
possible predictive importance of strain theories altogether. Thornberry et al. (1985:17)
assert that
these results cannot be interpreted as providing general support for a
control perspective versus a strain perspective. The present analysis
has focused exclusively on one behavioral area - dropping out of
school - while the theories are concerned with a much wider array of
behavioral issues - family, peers, beliefs, and so forth.
While not supportive of Cohen on the issue of dropping out and delinquency, Thornberry
et al. rightly point out that both sets of theories are broader than the tests and should not
be dismissed outright.
A British project by Farrington et al. (1986) explore the relationship between
school leaving and delinquency with the added aspect of unemployment. Using data from
the longitudinal Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development they test the position that
"if school failure causes offending, then it might be expected that school leaving, if it is
followed by successful employment, might lead to a decrease in offending" (Farrington et
al. 1986:339). They find that unemployment is related to higher official rates of crime,
similar Elliott and Voss's findings, but only for those offenses that were committed for

41
material gain. More importantly, Farrington et al. (1986) discover that "there was little
difference between crime rates just before leaving school and just afterwards in full-time
employment" (p. 351). In terms of status, these results would not be unexpected from
Cohen's theory since those who find employment after leaving school would have higher
status than those who are unemployed. Interestingly, Farrington et al. imply that youths
who are unemployed at earlier ages (15) may engage in more delinquency as a result of
peer influence than those who are unemployed at later ages (18) (1986:351). The possible
impact of peer influence on the commission of delinquency introduced by Farrington et
al. is also in line with Cohen's subcultural theory of delinquency.
A more recent study by Jarjoura (1993) provides further clarification on the
relationship between dropping out of school and subsequent levels of delinquency. After
reviewing the different theoretical positions and trying to further specify the relationship
through the use of added controls, Jarjoura attempts to clarify the dropout - delinquency
relationship through the use of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Focusing on
different possible reasons for dropping out, Jarjoura finds mixed results which leads him
to state that "while dropouts were more likely to have higher levels of involvement in
delinquency than graduates, it is not always because they dropped out" (1993:167). While
some groups of dropouts increase their delinquent behavior after leaving school, such as
those who dislike school, there seems to be no significant relationship between
participation in delinquency and dropping out as a result of poor grades. The conclusion
Jarjoura reaches is that "there are no criminological theories that adequately explain the
dropout -delinquency relationship" (1993:169).
Overall the relationship between dropping out and delinquency is definitely mixed
on the predictive value of the relationship derived from Cohen's theory.

3.4.2 School Values, Academic Achievement, and Delinquency

Both of the studies in this section look at the norms and values schools try to
instill upon their students. Ideally these studies would address Cohen's position that
schools try to instill students with middle-class values that lower-class students have

42
difficulty integrating, and may well invert in their delinquency if they experience failure
in school, but they don't. In fact, neither of these studies invoke Cohen, even tangentially.
Even so, the subject matter of both articles relates to the role of school norms and values
in relation to delinquency.
In an empirical study of 540 secondary school boys in London, Sugarman (1967)
addresses the issue of youth culture's25 impact on delinquency. He argues that schools try
to instill two important values on all students, delayed gratification and subordinate status
in relation to adults. Next he contends that youth culture is important in determining
whether or not the values of the school are overturned. Accordingly, Sugarman maintains
that youth culture inverts the values provided by the schools.
In place of the officially-expected deferred gratification it puts an
emphasis on spontaneous gratification or hedonism. Similarly it
repudiates the idea of youth being subordinate to adults and asserts,
in effect, that teenagers are 'grown up' in the sense that they are
equal in status to adults though different in kind. (Sugarman
1967:154)
While Sugarman does not attribute any of these ideas to Cohen, the rejection of delayed
gratification and subordinate status as well as the importance of youth culture in
overturning school-promoted values are all curiously similar to those proposed by Cohen
in Delinquent Boys.
As far as findings are concerned, Sugarman discovers that those who were
committed to youth culture held attitudes unfavorable to school (1967:155). Also as
predicted, Sugarman finds that rejection of the value on delayed gratification is most
likely to be found among those with a commitment to youth culture. These statistical
results legitimately provide support for propositions forwarded by Cohen twelve years
earlier. One of the statements that is most informative about the implicit link between this
article and the arguments made by Cohen is that "pupils who are already becoming

25
Sugarman's use of the British term youth culture is quite similar to the American concept of
subculture. He argues that youth culture is "a special feature of the U.S." and embodies "values in conflict
with those of the adult world" (Sugarman 1967:153).

43
alienated from school are likely to turn to teenage commitment as a symbolic expression
of this attitude and pupils who are ambitious in the conventional terms of the school are
likely to avoid teenage commitment for the same reasons" (Sugarman 1967:159).
Although not quantitatively designed or supported, Polk (1984) makes arguments
similar to those provided by Sugarman (1967) and also sets forth propositions that have a
distinctive ring of Albert Cohen's work without being recognized as such. For example,
"the successful student is surrounded with the rewards that accrue to the successful,
including supportive and positive feedback from teachers and other, successful peers . . ."
(Polk 1984:466). Further, "subcultures are likely to lead to a repudiation of the values and
norms of the school, and to serve as a deterrent to academic achievement for its
participants" (Polk 1984:471).
Assuming that the Cohen-like propositions are occurring in the schools, Polk
argues that alienation experienced as a result of poor school performance can be
overcome through a number of pro-active policies. These policies are thought to be
important because the experience of alienation within the context of school is believed to
be a source of delinquent behavior.

3.4.3 The Relationship between Social Class and Delinquency

The literature on the relationship between social class and delinquency which
concentrates on Cohen's subcultural theory of delinquency is much less extensive, but still
contains a couple of noteworthy inquiries. The primary focus of these studies is on
looking at whether levels of delinquency vary as a result of class-based differences in the
experience of status frustration. Cohen predicted that lower-class students would
experience greater level levels of status frustration in school which would affect school
performance and therefore increase the chances that they would engage in delinquency.
The first important study to focus upon was done by Albert Reiss and A. Lewis
Rhodes in 1963 and relates to class differences in the experience of what Cohen termed
"status frustration". In this investigation of Cohen's predictions about the relationship
between social class, status frustration, and delinquency, Reiss and Rhodes center on the

44
notion that social class comparisons occur which most negatively impact those of lower-
class status which is therefore responsible for high rates of delinquency. Reiss and
Rhodes argue that it is a test of Cohen's theory, and develops a concept referred to as
status deprivation that is used as a measure of status frustration. While this is not
problematic in itself, difficulties are created when they attempt to operationalize this
concept based on a single Mertonian question about the experience of relative
deprivation. Reiss and Rhodes fail to adequately explain how relative deprivation and
status deprivation (Cohen's status frustration) are similar, and how the experience of
relative deprivation can adequately measure a failure to live up to middle-class standards.
Further, some of the occupations that they refer to as middle-class are
questionable. According to Reiss and Rhodes (1963), the middle-class includes "those
from homes of craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers, protective service workers,
managers and proprietors of small businesses, clerical workers, sales workers not in other
categories, and technicians allied to professional services" (p. 138). Ultimately they find
mixed results that partially reject the hypothesized link between status deprivation and
social class attributed to Cohen. Even with the poor operationalization and measurement
of Cohen's theory, Reiss and Rhodes (1963:148-149) state that there is some support for
Cohen's theory in that reported experience of status deprivation is
greatest in those positions of the social structure where subcultural
delinquency and female delinquency are more prevalent, i.e., among
bottom class [lower-class] adolescents in schools where the student
body is predominately bottom class.
The value of this study in testing Cohen is questionable at best, and their results should be
viewed critically. Kelly and Balch (1990) also attest to the fact that the study is an
inadequate test of any aspect of Cohen's theory of subcultural delinquency.
While recognizing the difficulties of Reiss and Rhodes (1963) test of Cohen's
theory, Kelly and Balch (1990) attempt to provide their own thorough test of Cohen's
theory of subcultural delinquency. They employed a survey of more than 1200 students in
the Pacific Northwest to help determine whether social class was, in fact, related to

45
delinquency as hypothesized by Cohen. In addition, they add a locus of school-related
factors to see if they intervene in the social-class - delinquency relationship.
In their initial findings, Kelly and Balch (1990) show that the expected
relationship between social class and delinquency is not realized according to differences
in percentages. At the same time, they do find some important differences in delinquent
behavior according to measures of school success, self-evaluations of school, affect
toward school, and involvement in school. Upon controlling school-related measures,
Kelly and Balch (1990) find that "the relationship between social class and our dependent
variables does not depend on school experience as Cohen implies" (p. 254). In effect, they
find that items related to school and status derived from school have an important impact
on delinquency, regardless of social class. While contrary to the social class-school
failure-delinquency hypothesis developed by Cohen, it fails to adequately address the
concept of ability to successfully adhere to middle-class values.
Although it has already been addressed in the previous section, Elliott (1966) does
make a few secondary comments about social class differences in the commission of
delinquent behavior in his study of the delinquency-dropout relationship. In this work he
finds it important to see if there is a class difference in levels of delinquency while the
subjects were in school and after leaving school. The results indicate that there is a class
difference in levels of delinquency related to school status, with levels of delinquency
after leaving school dropping off more dramatically for lower-class youths than for those
from higher social classes. The perception is that dropping out may be a solution for the
status deprivation experienced by lower-class students, whereas dropping out may create
further problems for those of higher social class standing. Elliott (1966) concludes that
"one might infer that dropout is a satisfactory solution for those from lower SES areas for
the delinquency rate of such youth is lower after leaving school than it was while they
were in school" (p. 314).
Another study by Delbert Elliott in 1962 also addresses the issue of social class
and delinquency from a subcultural perspective. In this study the theories of Cohen and
Cloward and Ohlin are explored in an attempt to address how delinquents and non-

46
delinquents define success and whether the groups have different perceptions of their
ability to achieve success. Elliott surveyed 200 high-school males about three different
measures of success while getting delinquency data from juvenile court referrals. On each
aspect of success there was some indication that delinquents and non-delinquents had
similar ideas about how success is defined and identified. When looking at the
composition of the delinquent and non-delinquent groups Elliott found that the delinquent
group contained a greater proportion of lower- and working-class students than did the
non-delinquent group. When controlling for differences in social class, he finds that
delinquents are more likely to perceive lower and fewer educational opportunities than
are non-delinquents (Elliott 1962).
Cohen's theory of subcultural delinquency receives minimal support at best from
the conclusions provided by Elliott. While it is the case that there is similarity between
lower- and middle-class delinquents in this study, it does not rule out the possibility that
Cohen might have some value in the prediction of delinquency. Part of the limited
support for Cohen comes across when Elliott (1962) argues that "even among lower-class
boys who are subject to essentially the same class barriers to success, non-delinquents are
more likely than delinquents to maintain the belief that they can achieve a middle-class
occupation" (pp. 224-225). Such a statement implies that the lower-class is likely to
perceive impediments to success which delinquents are more likely to allow to stop them
in the pursuit of middle-class success than are non-delinquents.

3.4.4 Summarizing the Findings of the Theoretical Tests

All in all, support for Cohen's theory has been mixed over the past 40 years. It is
of interest to note that the aspect of the theory that has received the greatest attention, the
dropout-delinquency relationship, is one that was not directly proposed by Cohen in the
theory, but is extrapolated from his writings and from other strain theories. Other aspects
of the theory have been tested in more limited ways, but just as in the case of dropout -
delinquency, no consensus has been reached about the value or inadequacy of the theory.

47
 Kelly and Balch's (1990) study has been the broadest of all of the studies to date,
and fails to find support for Cohen's theory. Even so, this inquiry, just like most all others,
takes the existence and adherence to school-based middle-class values by lower-class
youths as a given. When taken altogether there is no compelling reason to completely
dismiss Cohen's theory. It seems that Empey's conclusion in 1967 about existing
subcultural theories remains applicable today. In essence, it argues that there is not
enough solid information to either support or negate the relationships proposed by
subcultural theories, including Cohen's (Empey 1967).

3.5 Making Cohen's Subcultural Theory More Concise and Testable

Cohen proposed that youths in the lower-class were taught the values of
aggressiveness, obedience, and a focus upon the present. In contrast, middle-class kids
were taught values that promote ambition, individual responsibility, academic and
occupational achievement, foresight and planned action, etiquette, self-control, and
respect for property. This second set of values was perceived to be the set that were
dominant within the school system and society itself. From the outside it is easy to see
that there is a basic incongruence between these two sets of values, but only a small
percentage of the lower-class within society and, more importantly, the school system
will be able to make sense of the incompatibility. Those that are able to make sense of the
competing systems have a much greater chance of being able to succeed than those that
cannot. The individuals who are unable to succeed by incorporating the dominant societal
value system will still attempt to become successful and to gain status, either through
legitimate or illegitimate means. The most deviant of the attempts to succeed in attaining
status is through the delinquent response (delinquent subculture), which takes the
dominant societal values (middle-class values) and rejects them, turning instead to acts
which are made to flaunt the rejection of socially accepted values. The acts committed by
those in the delinquent subcultures are defined by the fact that they are malicious,

48
negativistic, non-utilitarian, and hedonistic, all of which are characteristics of behavior
that are basically incompatible with middle-class values.
Cohen's subcultural theory of delinquency is both insightful and straightforward,
providing future researchers with a theory that is amenable to empirical tests. In fact, the
theory itself was a product of qualitative research and insight, and Cohen provided
preliminary data that there was tentative support for his conceptualization. He encouraged
researchers to test the theory and to modify it as necessary (Cohen 1955). Researchers
have made a number of attempts to test the subcultural theory of delinquency, but results
have been less than encouraging.26 Many of these attempts have fallen short of a
comprehensive test of the theory's propositions. In the spirit of Cohen's desire to make the
theory useful, I am proposing modifications to the theory which may make it more
concise and easier to test. These modifications are not designed to affect the theoretical
integrity or etiology proposed by Cohen's subcultural theory of delinquency, but instead
focus on generating more internal consistency among the values and standards proposed
therein.
The problem in Cohen's original definition of nine middle-class values is that they
are not sufficiently developed to warrant the separation afforded them in textual form. In
the description of the middle-class standards, Cohen alludes to the fact that some
standards are of an overlapping nature. In some cases the overlap is so significant that it
becomes difficult to perceive of them as separate standards, with differences being in
focus, not definition. Cohen (1955) propose that ambition means, among other things, "an
orientation to long-run goals and long-deferred rewards" (p. 88). Cohen also attempts to
make the case that delayed gratification should also be accepted as a middle-class ethic,
one which values "a readiness and an ability to postpone and to subordinate the
temptations of immediate satisfactions and self-indulgence in the interest of the
achievement of long-run goals" (1955:89-90). The result is a set of middle-class standards

26
For a thorough overview of studies that have dealt with Cohen's theory see the previous section (3.4).
Even though the studies fail to find overwhelming support for the theory, few, if any, were designed to
thoroughly test the theory. Even so, as Shoemaker admits, "in both motivation and pattern of conduct,
Cohen made an important contribution to the understanding of delinquency" (1996:111).

49
that are in need of revision, and such revision might make the theory more concise, more
logically consistent, and easier to test empirically.
Using Cohen's nine middle-class values as a guide, I am proposing a new scheme
which reduces the number of values to five, each of which is made up of at least one of
Cohen's original values. The nine middle-class values that he identified are: ambition,
individual responsibility, achievement and performance, delayed gratification, rationality
and planning, etiquette and self-control, self-control over the physical body, wholesome
leisure, and respect of other's property (Cohen 1955:88-92). The revised scheme of
middle-class values is composed of the following categories: success, self-reliance,
constructive leisure, acceptable conduct, and conspicuous consumption.

3.5.1 Success
The construct of success is derived from Cohen's values of ambition, achievement
and performance, and delayed gratification (middle-class values 1, 3, and 4). Each of
these values attempts to instill the middle-class belief in setting goals and striving to meet
them throughout the developmental process. Cohen held that "middle-class norms place
great value on 'worldly asceticism,' a readiness and an ability to postpone and to
subordinate temptations of immediate satisfactions and self-indulgence in the interest of
the achievement of long-run goals" (1955:89-90). While this is the middle-class value
termed delayed gratification, it is an important component of his values of ambition and
achievement and performance. Of achievement and performance Cohen (1955) stated that
"there is special emphasis on academic achievement and the acquisition of skills of
potential economic and occupational value [emphasis added]" (p. 89).
The other ties within these three values can be found when looking at the link
between ambition (middle-class value 1) and achievement and performance (middle-class
value 3). Both values emphasize achievement through aspiration, effort, and
determination. The significance here is that children should be somebody and be better

50
off than their parents.27 Thus, it is believed that children will be successful in the future as
long as they are dedicated, willing to strive, and put off for the future. If, on the other
hand, lofty goals are not sought, there is no achievement or performance, and/or
immediate gratification is not avoided, the success one anticipates will not materialize as
expected. Failure to adhere to these middle-class values has the capacity to interfere with
the attempt to get ahead, to attain success.

3.5.2 Self-Reliance
Self-reliance is a descriptive term for the value Albert Cohen labeled individual
responsibility (middle-class value number 2), and, in fact, there is no discernable
difference between the way Cohen defined this value and its present form. He envisioned
self-reliance as the middle-class ethic which was fostered by parents to ensure that their
children would know how to make it successfully in the world on their own. In Cohen's
own words, "it [self-responsibility] applauds resourcefulness and self-reliance, a
reluctance to turn to others for help" (1955:89). Lower-class parents are perceived to
teach children the importance of helping others, and according to this middle-class value,
such behavior may interfere with one's ability to get ahead in life. "If one's first obligation
is to help, spontaneously and unstintingly, friends and kinsmen in distress, a kind of
minimum security is provided for all, but nobody is likely to get very far ahead in the
game" (Cohen 1955:89). Ultimately this means that getting ahead requires one to do
things for themselves, and to avoid people and situations that may interfere with personal
achievement.

3.5.3 Constructive Leisure

The revised component, constructive leisure, is modeled after Cohen's values of
wholesome leisure and rationality and planning (middle-class values 5 and 8). There is a

27
It is interesting to note that in the middle-class value of ambition it is implied that it is the father's role
to encourage their children. "It is incumbent upon the good parent to encourage in his children those habits
and goals which will help them to e 'better off' than himself" (Cohen 1955:88).

51
core provided by both middle-class values which states that all activities should be
planned and have focus, even it it is a leisure activity.28 In the construct of constructive
leisure frivolous activities are to be avoided, everything should be done out of reason and
rationality. Cohen (1955) ascertained that the requirements of wholesome leisure are
based on not wasting time, "play gains in merit to the degree that it involves some
measure of foresight, study, practice and sustained endeavor toward the development of a
collection, a skill or a fund of specialized knowledge" (p. 91). Similarly, rationality and
planning is valued because of "the exercise of forethought, conscious planning, the
budgeting of time, and the allocation of resources in the most economic and
technologically most efficient way" (Cohen 1955:90).
In effect, wholesome leisure is by implication subsumed under rationality and
planning in Cohen's original discourse on the existence of middle-class values and their
description. While wholesome leisure looks at making the most out of activities in a
single context, rationality and planning places value on constructive activities in all
contexts. An important point to make is that rationality and planning also contains
another meaningful component, a distrust of gambling and other activities based on
chance (Cohen 1955:90). This element contends that such behavior may be popular, even
among middle-class youths, but ultimately it is not wholesome or efficient and cannot be
planned. This aspect of planning and rationality will be retained in the revised middle-
class value of constructive leisure.

3.5.4 Acceptable Conduct

Cohen's middle-class values of self-control over the physical body and etiquette
and self-control (middle-class values 6 and 7) are analogous and should be combined into
a single middle-class value, acceptable conduct. Acceptable conduct centers on the
belief common to both values that one must engage in proper behavior at all times.

28
Although non-constructive leisure activities are not valued, so to speak, Cohen does not state that
such endeavors should be avoided altogether. It is just that these ventures are not observed to help one get
ahead in life.

52
According to their original descriptions, these middle-class values stated that fighting and
aggression are not proper behavior in any situation. Etiquette and self-control stressed
two things: (1) the use of proper behavior in all circumstances (etiquette and courtesy)
and (2) becoming adept at secondary group relations. As Cohen (1955:90-91) stated that
an
ability to "make friends and influence people," or at least to avoid
antagonizing them is important. . . . The achievement of these skills
necessarily implies the cultivation of patience, self-control and the
inhibition of spontaneity.
Great emphasis is placed on recognizing that etiquette and courtesy are highly valued and
help open doors that may make success possible.
Where etiquette and self-control overlap with self-control over the physical body
is in a necessary reliance on acting in a suitable and controlled manner at all times.
Violence and aggression, Cohen argues, interfere with the ability to uphold good inter-
personal relationships. Further, self-control ensures that "intellectual, technical and social
skills may realize their maximum value" (Cohen 1955:91). Each of these middle-class
values places great emphasis on the use of etiquette and self-control in all situations,
meshing to such a degree that logically the two can be combined into a single middle-
class value of acceptable conduct without losing meaning.

3.5.5 Conspicuous Consumption

Conspicuous consumption is really just another name for Cohen's perception of
a middle-class standard that values the respect of other's property. This is the standard
that Cohen most clearly outlined, explaining not only the significance of property rights,
but also the attitudes that are to be held about the accumulation of property. In the
description of this value he mentioned that other's property should be respected because it
is the most conspicuous sign of achievement and is something that individuals should
also strive to attain.

53
 What Cohen is describing is quite similar to Thorstein Veblen's concept of
conspicuous consumption, hence the reason for renaming this middle-class standard. In
The Theory of the Leisure Class ([1899] 1953), Veblen coined the term conspicuous
consumption to describe a situation where people purchase unnecessary goods and
services as a means to display their social status. In fact, Cohen (1955) claims that
"property, furthermore, is not only of utilitarian or esthetic value, but it is extraordinarily
ego-involved, for it is the most conspicuous sign of achievement, the most universally
legible symbol of worth" (p. 93).
The middle-class value of conspicuous consumption is defined in such a way that
it is difficult to test because it is diametrically opposed to delinquency. It is difficult, if
not impossible, to steal a person's property and respect their rights to that property. While
not stating it in terms of property offenses, Cohen does maintain that "things are to be
husbanded, treated carefully, not wantonly wasted, carelessly abused or destroyed"
(1955:92). At the same time he perceives that delinquency is motivated by maliciousness
and non-utilitarianism. Realistically the relationship between conspicuous consumption
and delinquency is such that a tautological argument is created.

3.6 Theoretical Summary

The modifications to the middle-class values identified by Cohen should make it
easier to examine whether or not they have any impact on the propensity to engage in
delinquency, specifically football hooliganism. While several authors have pointed out
limitations to Cohen's concept of delinquent subcultures, many of their empirical tests of
the theory have been less than rigorous in their approach to this theory, often testing only
certain aspects of it at any given time. More importantly, studies such as Elliott and Voss
(1974), Thornberry et al. (1985), and Farrington et al. (1986) provide at least tacit support

54
for certain aspects of the theory, specifically a relationship between dropping out of
school (school failure) and subsequent levels of delinquency.29
I am proposing a more in-depth test of Cohen's subcultural theory of delinquency,
looking specifically at the evolution of modern English football hooligans and hooligan
crews as an example of subcultural delinquency. It is hypothesized that since football
hooliganism is inclusive of multiple forms of delinquent behavior, those who engage in
such activities are less likely to adhere to middle-class values than are non-hooligans.
Specifically, hooligans orientation toward success, self-reliance, acceptable conduct, and
constructive leisure will be less middle-class than their non-hooligan counterparts.

29
These findings are further detailed in section 3.4 of this chapter, which highlights empirical tests of
Cohen's subcultural theory of delinquency. Another good source for discussion about empirical tests of
Cohen's theory can be found in Shoemaker (1996).

55
 CHAPTER IV
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

There is a large body of literature, generated by both academic and non-academic

sources, that describe the variety of football cultures throughout the world. This diverse
work includes everything from the histories of football and specific clubs to reports on
distinctive events and players, but football hooliganism is by far the most studied aspect
of the football culture. As Duke (1991) explains, "this preponderance of work on one
issue is not surprising given its high visibility in media discourse and the greater
likelihood of funding for policy relevant research" (p. 627). Studies of hooliganism have
proliferated over the past 30 years, the majority of which focus on the problem in the
United Kingdom, yet the situation has been defined as a social problem by political,
academic, and sports authorities the world over (Johansson 1987).
The purpose of this review is to address the state of the literature on football
hooliganism, especially that written about the problem in England, and to provide support
for the use of Cohen's theory of subcultural delinquency as an explanatory model of
hooligan involvement. More specifically, I will focus on five aspects of the available
literature:
1 the defining characteristics of football hooliganism;
2 the nature of the empirical research to date;
3 the literature which focuses on the criminological aspects of the
phenomena;

56
 4 the relevance of a criminologically based subcultural explanation derived
from the work of Albert Cohen; and
5 the quantitative data set that is employed in this project.
It will be revealed that studies of football are dominated by qualitative investigations that
focus on the sociological, psycho-social, and psychological features leading to football
hooliganism. Many of these studies also recognize that there is an important sub-cultural
dimension to hooliganism, and vaguely suggest explorations that look at this component
of the phenomenon.

4.1 Characteristics of Football Hooliganism

4.1.1 Defining Hooliganism
The term football hooliganism is decidedly English, thought to be derived from
the surname of the "infamous" criminal Patrick Hooligan, who went about the streets
robbing and beating his victims (Hobbs and Robins 1991). Since the term was first
invoked to describe fan disorder at English football matches, nations all over the world
have adopted the expression for the development of similar football-related behavior in
their countries (Duke and Crolley 1996). When English football hooliganism attained
social problem status in the 1960s, it was the media that helped define the parameters of
the problem for the public (Hall 1978; Murphy et al. 1988; Kerr 1994). Serious academic
and political dialogue on the topic was not undertaken until the late 1960s, and the
definitions developed from these discussions were shaped to a large degree by the public's
image of the problem. Since that time, numerous definitions have been put forth in an
attempt to accurately describe the phenomena.
Football hooliganism has become an inclusive term used to represent a wide
variety of mischievous and malicious activities that occur in the context of football
matches. These behaviors run the gamut from disruptive non-criminal activities to serious
criminal offenses (Ingham 1978; Carroll 1980; Trivizas 1980; Armstrong and Hobbs
1994; Kerr 1994). According to Melnick (1986), "the forms of misbehavior commonly

57
associated with football hooliganism include physical assaults on opposing fans and
police, pitch invasions, throwing missiles, verbal abuse, vandalism, drunkenness, theft
and possession of an offensive weapon" (p. 1-2). Even though activities commonly
described as hooliganism encompass a wide variety of criminal acts against persons and
property, football hooliganism is not a specific crime (or set of crimes) under British
criminal or civil law (Williams 1980; Melnick 1986; Redhead 1991; Armstrong 1998).30
The absence of a comprehensive criminal law on hooliganism is due to the fact that the
term encompasses a wide array of activities that occur before, during, and after matches
inside and outside of the football grounds (Canter et al. 1989; Roversi 1991; Kerr 1994).
Any accurate definition of hooliganism should address four important issues.
First, football hooliganism is inclusive of both simple and complex behaviors. As Carroll
(1980) states, hooliganism "has become used in a 'blanket' fashion, which covers a
multiplicity of actions, some of which are law breaking offences, some of which are more
nuisance value or are frightening" (pp. 77-78). Second, acts of hooliganism can be
performed by either individuals or groups. Since juvenile gangs (teddy boys, punks, and
skinheads) started attending matches in the 1960s, group-based hooliganism (fighting
crews and casuals) has become a more or less permanent aspect of the phenomena,
displacing less organized (almost individualistic) forms of fan disorder (Murphy et al.
1990; Armstrong and Hobbs 1994; Finn 1994; Stott and Reicher, 1998).
Third, acts of hooliganism occur inside and outside of football stadia.
Traditionally hooliganism occurred inside football grounds, but since rival fans have been
segregated "more and more effectively within the stadia, face-to-face confrontation is
only possible outside the ground" (Canter et al. 1989:108). Other advances have also

30
People are often arrested in the context of football matches, but since hooliganism is not crime they
are not charged with football-related offenses. Trivizas (1980) found that 67 percent of arrests in this
context were for the use of "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior with intent to provoke a
breach of the peace or whereby a breach of the peace is likely to be occasioned" (p. 278). The majority of
prosecutions for this offense were brought "under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1936 and a small
number under section 54(13) of the Metropolitan Police Act 1839" (Trivizas 1980:279). Part of the reason
for the wide use of Section 5 is that it is more practical than other, often more accurate, charges, especially
when "victims" are unavailable or unwilling to testify (e.g. Williams 1980).

58
made it more difficult to engage in hooliganism inside stadia, including the use of closed
circuit television, added law enforcement personnel, and all-seater stadia (Giulianotti
1994s; Kerr 1994; King 1997). Areas outside football grounds are more difficult to
control, leaving motivated hooligans opportunities for confrontations with rivals
(Dunning 1994; Kerr 1994; Armstrong 1998).
Fourth, football hooliganism occurs occur prior to, during, or after matches. The
variety of times hooliganism may arise is due in large part to the fact that agencies of
social control have limited the opportunities to engage in disruptive and criminal
activities inside the grounds during matches (Coalter 1985; Williams et al. 1986; Canter
et al. 1989).31 For the purposes of my dissertation, football hooliganism is defined as
behavior that ranges from disruptive and nuisance acts to property and violent crimes
committed both inside and outside football grounds by individuals and/or groups
commonly affiliated with football.

4.1.2 Identifying Hooligans

Since academic studies of football hooliganism began to proliferate in the 1970s,
numerous attempts have been made to identify the individuals who engage in these
activities. The demographic characteristics (namely gender, age, and social class) of this
sub-population have been well documented in the literature, yet little is known or
contested about their backgrounds outside the context of football (Marsh 1977). Even so,
the identification of hooligans is one of the few areas where general agreement exists in
the literature, an agreement built up since the beginning of academic studies. This section
of the literature review discusses the identification of hooligans in terms of the overriding
characteristics of those who have emerged since the 1966/7 season. It also helps reinforce
the position that Cohen's subcultural theory of delinquency is an appropriate explanatory
model for individual involvement in hooliganism.

31
For a thorough discussion of incidents attributed to individuals attempting to engage in pre- and post-
game hooliganism outside football grounds see Armstrong (1998) and Armstrong and Harris (1991).

59
 Gender. Football is a traditionally male preserve, and the gender composition of
hooligans is often implicitly treated as a foregone conclusion.32 The proportion of female
spectators at a match can vary quite widely, studies by Coalter (1985) and King (1997)
found that the proportion of female spectators varies by club, and is, to a certain degree, a
reflection of the club's facilities and policies. In the 1980s and 1990s numerous findings
have shown that more women are attending football matches in England, but generally
speaking they make up little more than 10 percent of attendance figures (Waddington,
Dunning, and Murphy 1996). Regardless of the crowd's composition, football is viewed
as a male pursuit in almost all reports (Williams and Woodhouse 1991), and more
importantly, football hooliganism is, and has been, a male dominated phenomena.
In one of the few quantitative studies on hooliganism, Trivizas (1980) found that
hooliganism was disproportionately a male problem. Based on arrest information
gathered in England he found that 99.2 percent of individuals arrested at and around
football matches were male. In a comparable control sample, matched by offense, only
87.3 percent of those arrested were male. Even so, Trivizas (1980) points out that while
women are often not actively involved in acts of hooliganism, "their presence in the
crowd may indirectly lead to the commission of offences by males" (p. 285). Generally
speaking, female hooligans are a rare breed, and where they do exist they are greatly
outnumbered by their male counterparts (Roversi 1991; Del Lago and De Biasi 1994;
Giulianotti 1994k; van der Brug 1994).
Other quantitative findings that explicitly address the issue of gender and
hooliganism come from investigations of football violence in Italy. Zani and Kirchler
(1991) confirm that 'fanatic' fans (hooligans) were "more likely to be male (z = 3.20; p <
0.01)" (p. 9). Even so, they found that female 'fanatics' accounted for approximately 11.9
percent of their total sample. Roversi (1991) reported a surprisingly high percentage

32
Canter et al. (1989) provide a prime example of how researchers' take the "maleness" of football
supporters as a given. In their survey of more than 1000 football supporters at 10 different clubs they
contacted only males.

60
(17.1) of female hooligans within a sub-group of his sample.33 The different levels of
female participation in hooligan activities found in these studies may be due in part to
cultural differences in attendance and television viewership (e.g. Canter et al. 1989).
The qualitative work done by the Leicester group also shows hooliganism to be an
overwhelmingly male phenomenon and helps to provide reinforcement for the norms of
masculinity that seemingly affect those involved in such behavior. Based on their analysis
of hooliganism, they conclude that "fans who fight at football matches are engaging in an
expression of norms of masculinity that are generally characteristic of patriarchal society
such as modern Britain" (Dunning et al. 1991:474). Spectators use hooliganism as a way
to express their machismo, "either factually by inflicting defeat on the rival fans and
making them run away, or symbolically, via the medium of song and chants" (Dunning
1986:279). Marsh (1978) also supports the position that hooligan behavior is influenced
by the norms and values of masculinity.
While a focus on the influence of masculinity norms and values upon those
involved in hooliganism goes back at least to the work of Marsh (1978), recent years have
seen increasing numbers of discussions about the existence and values of masculinity that
hooligans attempt to fulfill. Finn (1994) argues that hooligans' identities are wrapped in a
need to express themselves, their masculinity, and their support through aggression and
violence. From a social psychological perspective Finn perceives that aggression and
violence are the foundation of football and that fans engaged in such behavior are looking
to have peak experiences that provide unequaled excitement. Analyzing the comments of
one self-proclaimed hooligan, Finn (1994) argues that the acts of hooliganism are "so
intensely and positively overwhelming that he is unable to find any adequate description
of the totality of feelings that result" (p. 117).
Others have similarly argued that there is in hooliganism an overt perception and
expression of masculinity. As King (1997:333) points out,

33
Roversi (1991) attributes this high proportion of female hooligans to a number of factors, including
shorter periods of involvement and the existence of a female hooligan group (pp. 324-325).

61
 the lads also attain pride for themselves by the demonstration of
loyal support: regular attendance, singing (even when losing) and
fighting. The notion of pride is important in the lads' everyday lives
for their masculinity is substantially defined through football.
This perception of masculinity among hooligans requires a shared definition of what
masculinity means and how it is expressed (Haynes 1993; Armstrong 1998; Stott and
Reicher 1998). This development of a shared social identity helps to define "both the
extent and the direction of crowd action: who acts together and how they act" (Stott &
Reicher 1998). Among football spectators and hooligans alike, masculinity is defined
both by action and by dress, and only certain groups are perceived to be masculine. As
one of King's (1997) interviewees identified, "it just fucks me off so much to look at them
all just sat there in shirts not singing" (p. 359).
The Leicester group posits that the violent masculine style at football matches is a
reproduction of the way hooligans are socialized. Guided by Gerald Suttle's work on
'ordered segmentation' they establish that hooligans' violent masculine style at football
grounds is the result of sexual segregation occurring in the neighborhoods in which they
grow up (Dunning et al. 1982; Dunning 1990).
The overwhelming maleness of hooliganism strengthens the argument for a
subcultural theoretical explanation of the phenomenon since one of the major arguments
made by subcultural theories is that delinquent behavior is a primarily male phenomenon
(Gibbons 1994; Shoemaker 1996). The assumption about the predominately male
character of hooliganism is one that can be readily applied to English football hooligans.

Age. The issue of age and football hooliganism has yet to be completely resolved;
however, there is considerable agreement about the nature of the relationship.
Hooliganism is generally perceived to be an activity of adolescents and young adults, a
perception borne out by most research on the subject. The ambiguity attached to specific
ages (or age ranges) is compounded by the fact that a number of writers refer to hooligans
as being "young" without elaborating on approximate age (Marsh, Rosser, and Harre

62
1978; Carroll 1980; Pratt and Salter 1984; Giulianotti 1994k; van der Brug 1994). Where
ages (or age ranges) are reported there is a degree of variance, but these findings generally
support the existence of a strong relationship between youth and hooliganism.
The stereotypical view about modern football hooligans was that they were young
schoolboys, but numerous studies have rejected this supposition, at least partially. Focus
on the age of hooligans became more important as age segregation began to gain
prominence at football stadia during the 1950s and 1960s, with young spectators coming
to dominate the "football ends."34 According to Hobbs and Robins (1991), "this
represented a significant break with traditional ways of watching football and can be
dated by most observers, with some precision, to the seasons of 1966-67 and 1967-68" (p.
554). As this change in terrace composition occurred, hooliganism took on a broader and
more organized form (Williams et al. 1986; Armstrong 1994; King 1997). The
development of "youth ends" and "hooligan gangs" helped to create a process whereby
individuals were weaned into hooligan groups, took on more active roles, then faded from
active participation.
Studies have found that individuals become involved in hooliganism at an early
age. Marsh (1982) found that children from 9 to 13 years of age became involved as
novices, undergoing a social learning process through which they learn "the essential
skills required by a successful football fan" (p. 250). In a study of the Hibs (Hibernian)
casuals in Scotland, Giulianotti (1994k) identified the existence young prospective crew
members known as "the Baby Crew". He maintains that "in Wittgensteinian terms, they
are already socialized: they understand The Family language game, follow the rules and
conventions within it, and are learning how to enforce, adapt, and add to them"
(Giulianotti 1994k:351). While such young apprentices may exist, most studies pinpoint
entry into hooliganism further into adolescence, around school leaving age, ages 15 to 17

34
"Football ends" refer to the areas directly behind each goal. These ends were/are the areas where
standing terraces predominated. Large groups of spectators, especially hooligans, have traditionally
congregated in these sections of the stadium. There are three main reasons that these sections are desirable
to hooligans: (1) the close proximity of large groups of non-segregated spectators, (2) lack of physical
impediments (rows of seats/benches), and (3) inexpensive match briefs (tickets).

63
(Roadburg 1980; Williams et al. 1986; Armstrong 1994). Similarly, Roversi (1991) found
that among the "ultras" in Italy, less than 2 percent were age 15 or under.
Those at the core of the hooligan crew are often in their late teens and early 20s
(Canter et al. 1989; Giulianotti 1994k; Armstrong 1998). In their ethnographic study of
Sheffield United hooligans, Armstrong and Harris (1991) found that the core group was
in their early 20s. The core group is perceived to be "very enthusiastic in their support . . .
and are very commonly present when trouble breaks out with rival fans" (Armstrong and
Harris 1991:435). This core is the most active part of any hooligan crew; instigating
chants, starting demonstrations, and initiating or being the first to retaliate during attacks.
These individuals, like most hooligans, begin drifting away during their mid- to late 20s
(Marsh 1982; Williams et al. 1986; Giulianotti 1994k; Kerr 1994).
Police records provide a similar picture of those engaged in football hooliganism.
Based on data provided at the time of apprehension, Marsh (1977) found that the mean
age of football offenders at Oxford United, during the 1974/5 season, was just over 18
years of age. Trivizas (1980) reported that the mean age of arrested hooligans was 19 in
his study of football-related arrests in the London metropolitan area. In addition, he found
that individuals under 21 years of age committed 76.3 percent of all offenses, only 17.7
percent of which were committed by youths between the ages of 10 and 16.
The reliability of these English findings are strengthened by similar findings in
other European nations. Mignon (1994) reports that 62 percent of French hooligans were
between 16 and 22 years of age. Zani and Kirchler's (1991) study of the hooligan fringe in
Italy find that those fans described as being "fanatics" are significantly younger than the
groups of moderate supporters (F(1,498) = 131.15; p < 0.001). In a study of Italian 'ultras'
from Bologna, Roversi (1991) shows that 80.6 percent are less than 24 years of age, with
the modal group being between 19 and 21 years of age (31.4 percent of the total
sample).35 Other studies, such as van der Brug's (1994) study in Holland and Dal Lago

35
Roversi (1991) believes that the age of ultras may be slightly skewed. He qualifies these statistics by
stating that "it must also be considered that in this case the number of youngsters under 15 is very probably
underestimated" (p. 327).

64
and De Biasi's (1994) study in Italy, vaguely refer to hooligans as being young. The age of
the hooligans they talk about can only be extrapolated from their discussions about the
occupational and school-related information they present, and in these cases the hooligans
are in their late teens and early 20s.
Most researchers find that hooligans become less actively involved, or exit
altogether, during their 20s, what is described in delinquency as a process of aging out.
While there are a number of reasons a person may age out of hooliganism, such as
marriage and family, work and fear of arrest and sanctions. A developing explanation for
aging out in the 1980s and 1990s is based on fears that "age might be equated with
leadership by the police and prosecution counsel" (Armstrong 1998:267). Even though
these "older" hooligans graduate/retire from active service in the ends and undertake
"normal" adult lives, they may still hold important roles (Hobbs and Robins 1991;
Giulianotti 1994k; Kerr 1994). Those who remain involved are referred to as 'Daddies of
the Ends,' a group of individuals who have secured their reputations and no longer have to
prove themselves. By aging out of hooliganism, the 'Daddies of the Ends' enter a role not
unlike that of "tribal elders whose experience and personal qualities serve as models for
those lower down in the social hierarchy" (Marsh 1982:252). At times they may even
rejoin the crew for a specific match or rivalry, helping boost the size of the group
(Giulianotti 1994k; Armstrong 1998). Although most hooligans age out during their 20s,
their role as a mentor can continue for a number of years (Hobbs and Robins 1991).
Although a number of those who age out remain involved, a fair proportion of graduates
eventually migrate to the seated sections of the football stadia (Taylor 1971; Giulianotti
1994k), while others disappear from the game altogether (Horak 1991).
At a general level, the relative youthfulness of hooligans matches well with the
assumption of youth held by subcultural theories, which focused on the development and
maintenance of delinquent gangs (implying an emphasis on young offenders) (Williams
and McShane 1994; Shoemaker 1996). A second parallel with subcultural theory made in
the literature identifies a process whereby individuals age out of hooliganism. Few
subcultural theories explicitly recognize the process of exiting delinquency (Shoemaker

65
1996), but of existing subcultural theories Cohen's middle-class measuring rod handles
this situation best by proposing a move away from delinquency when the individual
leaves the institution (school) which is producing the strain (Cohen 1955).

Social Class. The link between social class and football is one of the most
consistent and long standing relationships found in the literature. Football originated and
evolved from working-class origins, a fact which is traced back to the folk football games
of the Middle Ages. As the game professionalized in the late 1800s and early 1900s the
majority of spectators came from working-class backgrounds (Clarke 1978; Dunning et
al. 1986; Walvin 1986; Dunning 1994). The strong presence of working-class spectators
at football matches continues in the present era. Although there is some debate about the
reliability and validity of depending on a single indicator of social class (the Registrar
General's classification scheme), most quantitative and qualitative studies report that the
majority of English hooligans come from the lower-classes. The sole source of
controversy about social class stems from a lack of agreement about what part of the
working-class most hooligans inhabit.
In early studies published on the phenomena, hooliganism was identified as a
behavioral pattern most often associated with the lower-classes. The emphasis on the
central role of lower-class hooligans began with a report by the Birmingham Research
Group to the Minister of Sport, known as the Harrington Report (Harrington 1968). This
report was the first to provide quantitative support for the assertion that hooligans came
from working-class backgrounds. The 1968 Harrington Report found that 64.0 percent of
convicted hooligans held unskilled and semi-skilled occupations.
A few years later, Taylor (1971) hypothesized that "this rump [football hooligans]
will include the unemployed and the unemployable, the downwardly mobile and the
totally immobile, e.g. those from broken families who cling to neighbourhood ties in the
absence of kin-involvements" (p. 154). Taylor went on to propose that the violence
occurring at and around football matches was a form of working-class rebellion against
the "more total and material estrangement of this isolated group from the wider society"

66
(1971:155). Clarke (1978) took this line of reasoning a step further when he located the
source of hooliganism within the younger members of the working-class. He perceived
that during the 1970s these working-class youths "have greater relative social, economic
and cultural freedom from their parent class. . . . And it is this relative freedom from their
parent class - this dislocation of the working class young - which lies at the centre of
football hooliganism" (Clarke 1978:51).
Since these early studies located hooliganism within the lower-classes numerous
studies have supported the perception of hooligans as working-class louts. The Leicester
group has been the dominant force in assessing the class position of English hooligans.
The group focuses on the appeal football has for members of the rough working-class.36
They ascertain that rough working-class youths grow up in an environment that stresses
the importance of violent masculinity, the ability to fight and the need to defend one's
family friends and turf (Dunning et al. 1986; Williams et al. 1989; Dunning et al. 1991;
Williams 1991w). These youths are attracted to football hooliganism because it provides
an opportunity structure which reinforces norms learned through socialization in lower
working-class families and neighborhoods. As Dunning et al. (1991) state, "it is from
groups in the lower reaches of the stratification hierarchy, groups which lack the
advantages in the educational, occupational and leisure spheres that are available to the
higher strata, that the football hooligans are principally recruited" (pp. 474-475). Based
on data they collected and compiled, they find that "the majority of football hooligans in
England since the mid-1960s - around 70 per cent or 80 per cent - have always been
employed in unskilled or semi-skilled manual occupations or unemployed" (Dunning
1994:152-153).
Other quantitative studies, many of which are based on arrest information, provide
a similar picture of the social class background of those who are centrally involved in
football hooliganism. In Trivizas's (1980) research, he found that 68.1 percent of those

36
The Leicester group uses the term "rough" to refer to those individuals who come from lower
working-class backgrounds, especially unskilled occupations and the unemployed. A background that
dominated by standards that "valorize and help to produce and reproduce assertively aggressive and
physically violent expressions of masculinity" (Williams et al. 1991:474).

67
charged with hooligan offenses were in manual occupations, 12 percent were
unemployed, and another 10 percent were in school. Fully 80 percent of all individuals
arrested in Trivizas's study were from what is traditionally referred to as the lower-
classes. Melnick (1986) points out that Coalter (1985) lent support to the depiction of
hooligans as members of the working-class. Even the Leicester group's data on football
and social class supports the general trend that the working-class accounts for the
majority of football-related arrests (Dunning et al. 1982).
In recent years, a few authors have attempted to refute the general characterization
of hooligans as individuals predominately from lower- and working-class backgrounds
(Armstrong and Harris 1991; Hobbs and Robbins 1991; Moorhouse 1991). In actuality,
the debate is more accurately identified as an argument about which section of the
working-class is most centrally involved in hooliganism. Authors have taken exception to
the idea that the majority of hooligans are from the lower (rough) reaches of the working-
classes, not the idea that they generally hold some form of working-class standing. Yet, in
most cases, those attempting to disprove the relationship have little evidence that can be
used to effectively counter this recognized relationship.
Armstrong and Harris (1991) attempt to show that the characterization of
hooligans as working-class is an overstatement, as some hooligans are from respectable
and middle-class backgrounds. The basis for their rebuttal is two years of ethnographic
research on the Blades, a group of Sheffield United hooligans. Their description of
Blades' social class fails to support the contention that hooligans are not predominately
working-class. Dunning et al. (1991) critically re-examine Armstrong and Harris's work
and find that "none of the occupations mentioned by Armstrong and Harris is anything
other than unambiguously working class" (p. 470).
Hobbs and Robins (1991) also take exception to the Leicester school’s
characterization that the lower (rough) sections of the working-class make up the core
participants in football hooliganism. "The assertion that the lower (and therefore rougher)
working class make up the British football hooligan groups is not substantiated by

68
empirical evidence" (p. 557).37 It becomes evident later in their critique that at the core of
their challenge is the Leicester group's focus on a single sub-unit of the working-class,
namely the lower segments of the working-class. As Hobbs and Robins (1991) state, "our
analysis of similar data suggest a wide range of occupations across the working class
spectrum" (p. 558).
Some of the same arguments about social class origin appear in the context of
continental Europe, but a very similar picture is drawn. Continental studies also reinforce
the position that most hooligans are of working-class origins or are attempting to preserve
lower-class culture. In France, Mignon (1994) maintains that while regional differences in
class may exist among football supporters, the hooligan culture is predominantly
working-class. He contends that "although the hooligans are not mainly unemployed
people or socially detached individuals, they belong to the working class with an equal
balance between skilled and unskilled jobs" (Mignon 1994:283).
Researchers focusing on Italian 'ultras' (hooligans), come to similar conclusions
about the social background of those involved in football violence. Portelli (1993) locates
within the poor a propensity for violent and unruly conduct at football matches. Looking
more specifically at the 'ultras', Roversi (1994) finds that the vast majority of the
employed are predominately located with in blue collar occupations (80.3 percent of all
males and 51.9 percent of all females).
While not fully in agreement about the working-class origins of hooligans in the
Netherlands, van der Brug (1994) does find that educational levels are indicative of
decline in socio-economic status. Looking at comparisons of educational levels of
hooligans and their fathers, van der Brug (1994) finds, "a relationship between individual
downward mobility and participation in football hooliganism" (p. 180). All in all, football
hooligans on the continent of Europe seem to resemble their English counterparts when it
comes to social class origins and cultures.

37
There is ample empirical evidence about the relationship between football hooliganism and working-
class status, as has previously been shown in this section.

69
 As a result, the squabble is over which section of the working-class is most
centrally involved in English football hooliganism. Furthermore, most authors are in
agreement that the working-class, or at least some segment of it, is responsible for the
majority of football hooliganism. The general characterization of football hooligans as
working-class is also generally in line with subcultural theories, and more specifically,
fits well with respect to Cohen's subcultural theory of delinquency which speculates that
most delinquents are of lower-class status (Gibbons 1994; Shoemaker 1996).

4.2 State of the Empirical Literature

The problem of football hooliganism is proclaimed to be most severe in England,
yet there is a dearth of quantitative data on English hooligans. As Williams (1991w)
points out, "most of the (rather little) actual research on football hooligans in England has
been conducted using the methods of observation or participant observation" (p. 25).
What follows in an overview of the forms of research undertaken to date.

4.2.1 Qualitative Studies

The primacy of qualitative research becomes readily apparent when reading
through the literature on English football hooligans. Researchers maintain that the use of
qualitative methods provides them with an opportunity to make contact with the
individuals that are centrally involved (Williams 1991w; Giulianotti 1995; Armstrong
1998). Additionally, such methods provide researchers with the prospect of separating
those actively engaged in hooliganism from the "bullshitters" who are more talk than
action. Within the broad array of such studies it becomes readily apparent that there are
two primary qualitative methods used in the research, participant observation and content
analysis (predominately reliant on historical documents).

Ethnography. Even though participant observation is the primary method for

empirical research on football hooliganism, there are numerous risks that impede those

70
wishing to study this subcultural form. While some dangers are intrinsic in any project of
this sort, there are a few unique risks that may be experienced when doing research on
illicit/deviant groups. Giulianotti (1995) provides an excellent description of the
difficulties prospective researchers may face. One of the greatest challenges is that of
gaining access to members of hooligan crews. This task has became more arduous in
recent years because of police attempts to infiltrate these gangs. These problems are well
illustrated by Giulianotti (1995:5),
at the time I had been seeking entree, the Hibs [Hibernian Football
Club] casuals had believed the police were about to mount an
undercover operation against them, a strategy liberally used in
England against football hooligan formations (see Armstrong and
Hobbs 1994).
Armstrong (1998) relates similar difficulties in his study of football hooliganism in
Sheffield. Even though he was native to the area and the groups involved, there was still a
great deal of mistrust and suspicion about his motives and research. The suspicion in this
case, just as in Giulianotti's research, was because of group fears about police infiltration
and prosecution.
In doing participant observation studies of hooligans, researchers run the added
risk of becoming caught up in fights (aggro) between gangs. Along the same lines, they
run the risk of being arrested when the crews engage in criminal activities. This situation
presents an important ethical quandary. Giulianotti brings up several possible questions
which may arise if the researcher attempts to avoid arrest.
How could I regain the trust of my research subjects if I abandoned
them to their fate? What guarantees could I give to the police that I
did not involve myself in violence? What guarantees could I offer
the research participants that my early release was not brought
through providing evidence against them? (Giulianotti 1995:11)
Participant observation of football hooligans presents numerous difficulties for the
researcher(s), yet many of them maintain that today's hooligans "are themselves not

71
adverse to the matter of compiling information and data on soccer hooliganism"
(Giulianotti 1995:7).
One of the first important empirical studies of English football hooligans was
undertaken by Peter Marsh, who studied the terraces occupied by hooligans at Oxford
United matches. Marsh attempted to show that the crowd disorder in the terraces was not
dominated by chaos, but was in fact governed by a unique social order (hierarchy) based
primarily on age and reputation. Employing an ethogenic methodology, Marsh (1982)
"concentrated on the social dynamics of groups of soccer fans and recurring patterns of
collective action" (p. 248). By observing behavior on the terraces, he determined that
hooligans could be classified into several distinct groups, including; novices, rowdies,
and graduates (Marsh et al. 1978; Marsh 1982). Further, hooligans aggressive behavior
against other hooligans was deemed to be a symbolic display for status rather than an
attempt to cause serious injury.
Pratt and Salter (1984) advocate Marsh et al.'s (1978) thesis that hooliganism
supports the existing social order. Although their research supports the existence of social
order, they disagree with Marsh's findings that hooligan violence is ritualistic or
symbolic.
We would emphasize the seriousness of the violence that takes place
from time to time, i.e. hooliganism is not all 'symbolic or ritualized';
indeed, in the last decade, in addition to the commonplace Saturday
afternoon incidents above, threatening behavior, general
unpleasantness and often 'real' violence, several young people have
actually been murdered as a result of hooliganism [emphasis in the
original]. (Pratt and Salter 1984:215)
Their findings are based on observations made at matches hosted by Cardiff City,
Millwall, and Portsmouth.
The most extensive participant observation has been undertaken by the group at
the University of Leicester. While the lead researcher and spokesman for the Leicester
group is Eric Dunning, most of the actual observation was done by John Williams, who
spent extensive amounts of time in several locations. He engaged in participant

72
observation of English hooligans in Spain during the 1982 World Cup, the 1988
European Championships in Germany, and during World Cup 1990 in Italy (Williams et
al 1989; Dunning et al. 1991). The group's research has focused on exploring the
relationship between English hooliganism and the working-class, especially the "rough"
(lower) working-class. More in-depth information about their research is presented in the
content analysis section.
Since 1990, there have been several intriguing studies based on the methods of
participant observation. Armstrong and Harris's (1991) study of Sheffield United
hooligans set off a lively, at times ruthless, debate about the nature of hooliganism (see
Sociological Review 1991, volume 39, number 3). They attempted to show that hooligans
crews are loose-knit organizations with informal leadership and that hooligans come from
a number of social class backgrounds, not just the working-class. The work explored here
has recently culminated in an in-depth look at Sheffield United hooligans by Armstrong
(1998). While Armstrong attempted to look at the motive for the group's hooliganism, the
book is more realistically a narrative of the Blades which attempts to dispel a number of
myths about the present nature of hooliganism.
More recently King (1995, 1997) published studies on the beliefs and behavior of
Manchester United supporters, particularly the “lads” (the hooligan element). The first of
these studies focused on the violent events involving Manchester United supporters that
occurred in Turkey during the 1993 European Cup competition. He used participant
observation in an attempt to show the "centrality of nationalism and masculinity to the
fans' identity and, therefore, to the disorder in which fans are sometimes involved" (King
1995:635). These findings are useful in providing insight to the causes of hooliganism
between teams from different nations, but provide little information on forms of
hooliganism occurring during league matches in England.
King's 1997 study of Manchester United supporters addresses the nature of
support provided by the lads in relation to recent changes in football consumption. The
lads are a group of male Manchester United supporters who have a definitively masculine
style of support that finds "the appropriate support of the team as centering on drink,

73
singing, and fighting, and who have, since the mid-1980s, adopted very expensive 'casual'
styles of dress" (King 1997:332). The lads perceive themselves and their support to
originate in the working-class, and are experiencing difficulties maintaining a masculine
style of support at a club which is experiencing commercial and social success.38 Even so,
they believe themselves to be the backbone of support which the club and ownership will
again have to rely upon when the club faces hard times. Although this study does not give
primacy to the hooliganism of the lads, it does serve to reinforce the belief that a certain
style of masculine, acceptably aggressive, support is provided by men who regard
themselves as working-class and have their status completely wrapped up in their
football.
There are three other important studies that have employed the methods of
participant observation in an attempt to better understand hooliganism: Lewis (1982),
Hobbs and Robins (1991), and Stott and Reicher (1998). Since these studies address the
issue of hooliganism in terms of criminology and criminal justice, they will be detailed in
a later section in this review (4.3).

Content Analysis. In contrast to the considerable use of participant observation,

fewer researchers have employed content analysis in the study of English football
hooliganism. All of the studies reviewed here were undertaken by individuals affiliated
with the Leicester group. The purpose of the Leicester group's work in this area is
fourfold: (1) to examine the nature and extent of football hooliganism throughout the
history of modern football in England, (2) to provide evidence on the working-class's
relation to football and crowd disorder based on Gerald Suttle's conceptualization of
ordered segmentation, (3) to furnish support for Norbert Elias's theory of the civilizing
process, and (4) to show the media's role in shaping the nature and extent of hooliganism.

38
Manchester United is perhaps the most recognized and supported English club team in the world.
They have experienced such immense commercial success over the past decade that no other English team
has been able to achieve. Examples of this success can be found in Rushin (1995) and King (1997).

74
 Newspaper articles on football matches and FA reports form the basis for the
Leicester group's studies. Through these sources they describe how hooliganism has
changed over the course of the FA's existence. From this data they show that the nature
and extent of hooliganism has varied over time (Dunning et al. 1982; Maguire 1986;
Dunning et al. 1988; Murphy et al. 1990). The Leicester group conclude that if the
amount of hooliganism over time was graphed, it would resemble a U-shaped curve
beginning with relatively high levels at the beginning of the 1900s, lower rates from the
1950s to the 1960s, and rapid growth since the mid-1960s (Dunning et al. 1988). Part of
the significance of their research on changes over time is in showing that the amount of
hooliganism has varied quite broadly over the past 100 years. Just as important is that this
research also shows that the character of hooliganism has changed from relatively
spontaneous explosions of violence directed at players and officials to planned acts of
violence by groups of hooligans directed against opposing groups of hooligans (Dunning
1994).
Using the same source materials, Dunning et al. (1982, 1986, and 1988) also
attempt to show that football has traditionally been a sport of and for the working-class.
Using qualitative methods they provide an explanation for hooliganism that occurs at
football matches based on Suttle's work on ordered segmentation. The basic premise of
the idea is that young males from the lower working-class are socialized in an atmosphere
that promotes violence and aggression, and these values make it difficult to achieve status
and gratification from education or occupation (Dunning et al. 1986). As a result, these
individuals have found that football matches provide a context where they can gain status
and gratification for their violent and aggressive behavior and have been found to make
up a disproportionate number of spectators, and more importantly hooligans (Dunning et
al. 1982; Dunning 1994). This explanation of hooliganism lends credence to the notion
that Albert Cohen's subcultural theory of delinquency is an appropriate theoretical model
for a criminological investigation into the phenomenon by the focus on the need to obtain
status from non-work and non-educational sources.

75
 The third goal of the Leicester group is to provide support for Elias's theory of the
civilizing process. This theory is based on the idea that
in societies of Western Europe between the middle ages and modern
times, a more or less continuous refinement of manners and social
standards can be shown to have taken place, together with an
increase in the social pressure on people to exercise stricter, more
even and continuous self-control over their feelings and behavior.
(Dunning 1990:66)
This civilizing process is intended to limit not only the desire to engage in violence and
aggression, but also to limit the opportunity to engage in such behavior. The Leicester
group view hooliganism as a regression in the civilizing process (Elias and Dunning
1986; Dunning et al. 1988; Dunning 1990, 1994), and they support this premise through
the use of source material which describes the form and content of football hooliganism
over the past century.
The Leicester group's fourth goal in content analysis is to describe the relationship
between the media and crowd disorder at football matches (Murphy et al. 1988). As
previously stated, many writers argue that the media was one of the primary forces which
motivated lower working-class gangs to engage in violent and destructive behavior at and
around football grounds. Murphy et al. (1988) reveal that the media is actively involved
in a process of amplifying and de-amplifying the problem of hooliganism. This
conclusion is based on the media's "manner of reporting football crowd disorders after the
1950s as compared with their treatment of football crowds in the inter-war years and in
the decade or so immediately following the Second World War" (Murphy et al.
1988:668).

4.2.2 Quantitative Studies

In contrast to the wide array of hooligan studies that employ qualitative methods,
there is little quantitative information on the nature of the problem in England. Some
researchers have expressed a belief that English hooligans are not amenable to being
surveyed or interviewed. As Williams (1991w) explains, researchers do not "expect

76
serious hooligans in England to respond positively to attempts to collect data in this way"
(p. 25). The majority of quantitative studies that do exist only tangentially address the
problem of hooliganism, surveying football fans in general. Studies of this type are
exemplified by projects like that of Moorhouse (1986) and Canter et al. (1989).
The only work to date that provides a detailed quantitative analysis of football
hooliganism is that done by Trivizas (1980, 1981, and 1984). This series of articles
supplies valuable information on the types of offenses hooligans are arrested for and the
way these offenders are treated by the English court system. These studies are discussed
in greater detail later in this review of the literature.

4.3 Criminological Explorations of Football Hooliganism

In 1980 Trivizas asserted that "although much has been written on the subject
[football crowd disorders], there is a lack of objective data in the literature regarding the
criminological aspects of the problem" (p. 276). The literature currently available
accurately reflects the absence of criminological influence that Trivizas identified
eighteen years ago, and much of the criminological research in existence is atheoretical.
There are a limited number of criminologically-informed empirical studies (both
qualitative and quantitative), which are predominated by the work of Trivizas (1980,
1981, and 1984). My goal is to provide insight into the three main forms of
criminological research on hooliganism that have been undertaken; studies based on
quantitative, qualitative, and theoretical methods.

4.3.1 Quantitative Studies

Criminological explorations on English football hooliganism have utilized
quantitative methods on a limited basis, and the majority of these empirical studies rely
on data that are available in arrest reports and charge sheets. Marsh (1977) employed
arrest data in an attempt to show that football hooligans engaged in symbolic, rather than
actual, violence. In a more thorough investigation, Trivizas analyzed information

77
provided on arrest reports to address multiple issues: the types of arrests made at football
matches; police discretion in the selection of charges; the severity of sentences placed
upon convicted hooligans; and the formulation of a typology on the forms football crowd
disturbance that result in arrest. More recently, Farrington (1994ch) made use of some of
the data on football hooliganism that was available in West and Farrington’s Cambridge
Study in Delinquent Development. This limited study attempts to identify some possible
causes and correlates of football hooliganism.
Marsh (1977) briefly addressed the frequency and variety of football-related
arrests at Oxford United's grounds during the 1974/5 season. He argued that English
society demanded stiffer punishments be imposed on hooligans, even though there was an
absence of objective information on the frequency and type of hooliganism in the context
of football. Marsh found that arrests at matches were infrequent; furthermore, the
majority of those who were arrested were charged with non-violent offenses.39 His data
furnished support for later theoretical arguments which maintained that hooligans were
engaged in a process of ritualistic violence (see Marsh et al. 1978; Marsh 1982).40
Marsh recognized that what was known about the phenomenon of football
hooliganism was limited. "Little is known concerning the number of offences committed
by fans outside the grounds or on coach and rail journeys to matches. We also know very
little about the types of offenders and the extent of their involvement in the football
culture" (Marsh 1977:258). From this lack of evidence he concluded that investigations of
hooliganism have overblown the situation and that the predominance of myth making has
interfered with an examination of what is really going on in the football culture.
In a much more rigorous study of arrests, Trivizas (1980, 1981, and 1984)
provides the most thorough criminological analysis of quantitative data to date. The first
of Trivizas's criminological investigations of hooligans focuses on the type of offenses

39
For a critique of Marsh's conclusions see Williams (1980), an article that will be discussed later in
this review of the literature.

40
The premise of this theory is that hooligans aren't interested in causing serious bodily harm to other
individuals, but engage in aggressive behavior in a ritualized display of masculinity (Marsh et al. 1978).

78
individuals are charged with during football matches. Based on information provided in
charge sheets, arrest reports and other police documents, he discovers that over two-thirds
(67.1 percent) of all offenses were categorized under "the use of threatening or insulting
words or behavior," with most being prosecuted under Section 5 of the Public Order Act
1936 (Trivizas 1980). Trivizas goes on to identify arrested hooligans on the basis of age,
gender, social class, and prior criminal records. Arrested hooligans are most likely to be
young, working-class males with no prior criminal records. Individuals with previous
convictions committed only about one-third (36 percent) of the football-related offenses
analyzed by Trivizas.
These findings were compared to those of a matched control sample of individuals
arrested in non-football contexts. Trivizas found that there were several differences
between the experimental and control samples. For example, in the control samples the
"proportion of females and manual workers was lower, the age of the offenders higher
and a higher proportion of persons with previous convictions was found" (Trivizas
1980:287). This analysis led Trivizas to argue that: (1) football hooliganism is not
restricted to juveniles; (2) people in football crowds engage in criminal behavior they
would not commit alone; and, (3) there is a certain degree of social order within the
context of the football crowd.
In his second article, Trivizas (1981) uses the same offense data to explore how
the courts punish convicted football hooligans in comparison to control groups convicted
of similar offenses in non-football circumstances. In the majority of cases (80.8 percent),
offenses committed in the context of football resulted in the imposition of a fine. The
fines imposed on individuals convicted of offenses relating to football hooliganism
ranged between £1 and £100, with a mean fine of £31.14. Trivizas (1981) found that the
type of crowd influenced the severity of punishment, "persons committing offences in
football crowd disorders were punished more severely than persons committing similar
offences in other circumstances" (p. 346).
In his 1984 article, Trivizas presents a typology of English football hooligan
activities and an examination of police discretion in the choice of offense. The typology

79
of hooligan activities includes fourteen distinct forms, which are re-classified into four
categories based on the target of the hooligan behavior: (1) the opposing team's crowd or
crowd members; (2) football players, officials and club property; (3) football spectators
and the general public; and, (4) the police (Trivizas 1984:372). Trivizas goes on to
address how these incidents are defined into applicable legal categories by police and the
discretion they use in making the decision to arrest and for which offenses to charge the
individual.
Police discretion is an important part of any decision about which offense to
charge a football crowd offender with since the applicable laws (both common law and
statutory) are often "broadly defined, imprecise, vague and overlapping, with a
considerable duplication of prohibitions" (Trivizas 1984:376). Trivizas concludes that the
discretion used by police when selecting charges is influenced by: "(1) administrative
considerations; (2) certainty of conviction; (3) severity of sentence" (1984:380). He
concludes that police discretion often leads them to charge football offenders with
statutory offenses which, (1) can be dealt with by court magistrates; and, (2) carry more
severe penalties (fines and incarceration).
The most recent criminologically-based quantitative study of football hooliganism
is done by David Farrington (1994ch). He does an exploratory study of the causes and
correlates of hooliganism using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent
Development. Farrington finds that football hooligans come from relatively poor social
class backgrounds, have limited education, poor parental supervision, and tend to lead
working-class lives as adults. Further, hooligans are likely to be “impulsive, heavy
drinkers, drug users, and sexually promiscuous, like many other antisocial males in this
Study” (Farrington 1994ch:236).
When comparing football hooligans to other criminal groups in the study,
Farrington identifies that hooligans are prone to e involved in frequent group fighting and
violent offenses in general. Even so, the findings indicate that “there seem[s] to be
important differences between soccer hooligans and other groups of violent males”
(Farrington 1994ch:237). So while a few parallels between the causes and correlates of

80
hooliganism and other violent offending are found, the differences appear to be as
important as the similarities.

4.3.2 Qualitative Studies

The qualitative studies of criminological relevance provide insight into the
aggressive, often violent, behavior of hooligans in and around football matches. This
research is written in response to quantitative studies on the criminological aspects of the
topic, and focus on legal aspects of the phenomena, especially those experienced by the
police. Among the most recent criminological studies of a qualitative nature are those
which look not only at police activities, but also people's perceptions of their policies and
actions.
Marsh (1977) contends that the majority of individuals arrested at football
matches were charged with non-violent offenses, providing support for his theory that
hooliganism is primarily ritualistic, not violent. In re-evaluating Marsh's findings,
Williams (1980) discerns that the charges against those arrested at football matches were
often determined by convenience rather than appropriateness. He demonstrates that
Section 5 of the 1936 Public Order Act is an appropriate charge to be used for both
violent and non-violent forms of football hooliganism. Police often rely on Section 5
because of the "practical limitations of those competing charges which appear to have
more explicit links with violence" (Williams 1980:107). One such limitation is that
serious charges, such as assault, require police to identify both the assailant and the
victim, a situation unlikely to occur in the context of football. Williams (1980:107) points
out that:
firstly, the owners of flying fists and boots are difficult to locate on
crowded streets or terraces. Secondly, even when an arrest is made
for behavior consistent with assault, the victim of attack may also be
rather difficult to find. Typically, "victims" of assault at football
matches have either been involved in fighting themselves, or, for
various reasons, are loathe to become embroiled with the police.

81
Accordingly, some hooliganism may be a form of ritualized terrace behavior, but it is
inaccurate to describe all such behavior in this way when the existence of violent, often
bloody, confrontation on these same terraces continually occurs and leaves people
hospitalized and occasionally dead.
Lewis is one of the few researchers who employs the methods of participant
observation in an attempt to look at crowd disorder from the perspective of criminal
justice, a previously ignored aspect of hooliganism. This article explores the tactics used
by police to maintain control at the Aston Villa Football Club’s football grounds (Villa
Park). A description of the police and their typical game day routines are provided before
discussing the techniques and styles police use to maintain crowd order.
Based on his participant observation of the police at work during matches, Lewis
(1982) finds that "the British police use five techniques to control football crowds:
presence, warning, searching, ejection, and arrest" (p. 421). There is a significant police
presence at football matches, as the police to supporter ratio is around 1 to 200 or 250.
Lewis proclaims that searching, ejection, and arrest are controversial techniques used by
constables to maintain order. Even so, he finds that the police rarely arrest people at
matches for two reasons:
One, it ties up two or more officers who could be working with the
crowd. Second, when things get fast and furious, such as rushing a
fence or barrier, many police feel that it is better to separate
supporters than to arrest. (Lewis 1982:422)
As such, individuals are less likely to be arrested than they are to receive warnings or to
be ejected.
Lewis also discusses the styles of policing the law enforcement officer uses to
carry out crowd control, of which there are four: "polite, service, humorous, and macho"
(1982:421). Constables generally use the polite, service and humorous styles to try and
maintain control. The macho style is only employed when the other styles fail to control
spectator behavior. Lewis concludes that English police deal with football crowds
primarily through friendly persuasion; consequently, they seldom engage in methods

82
which may lead to serious injuries or deaths. However, "it is likely that, as more and more
police are injured, there will develop pressures from some quarters in England for police
to take stronger measures when dealing with unruly elements" (Lewis 1982:423).
In contrast to watching and talking with constables at football matches, Mathias
(1991) provides a unique analysis of the situation in England. Unlike most studies written
by academicians and journalists, Mathias has first-hand experience working crowd
control at Arsenal's home football matches. He makes some insightful observations about
the aggressive behavior of spectators based on his experiences. Mathias maintains that the
composition of the crowd affects the nature of any aggressive behavior that may occur. In
homogeneous segments of the stadium, aggressive behavior is a ritualistic part of each
match, whereas similar behavior in heterogeneous segments may preclude further
violence against opposing groups of fans. As the degree of conflict rises in heterogeneous
segments opposing fans often make physical contact, resulting in verbal abuse and
physically violent confrontations. Physical conflict inside the stadia "is often short-lived
due to police intervention or police strategies which reduce the likelihood of it happening
or restrict its actual escalation" (Mathias 1991:31). Even with the intervention strategies
of police constables, hooligans are not often dissuaded from engaging in violence.
Efforts to help police effectively deal with the threat of hooliganism have, since
the early 1980s, included the continual use of undercover policing. Armstrong and Hobbs
(1994) take a critical look at the covert policing operations that occurred in England and
Wales between 1985 and 1992, including their legal and political outcomes. Unlike U.S.
society, the British have a higher level of distaste and distrust of undercover police
activities, but as Armstrong and Hobbs (1994) point out, "football hooliganism has made
it possible for the British police to introduce and normalize covert tactics and strategies of
surveillance" (p. 224). Part of the growing acceptance is traced to changes in media
portrayals of hooligans, making them out to be a dangerous and cabalistic bunch.
Based on newspaper and police-related sources, Armstrong and Hobbs show that
over the period of March 1986 to April 1992, a significant number of dawn raids were
carried out by police against hooligan groups based predominantly on information

83
collected by undercover officers. While some of these covert operations were successful
in netting a large number of arrests, prosecution of these cases was much less successful.
Prosecutors ran into problems related to evidentiary procedure, and it seems that in
several cases arrested hooligans maintained that undercover officers encouraged violent
behavior (Armstrong and Hobbs 1994:213-214). Even with the mixed results of these
police efforts, the National Football Intelligence Unit (NFIU) came on-line in early 1990
in an attempt to more effectively collect information on hooligans, with the hope of
making more arrests, securing more convictions, and decreasing the threat created by
hooliganism. Armstrong and Hobbs (1994) conclude that while the use of surveillance
technologies and procedures against football hooligans is deemed to be acceptable to the
public because they are a marginalized (criminal) group, there is no guarantee that the
same procedures will not be used against the rest of the public in the future.
The final qualitative study addressed in this review is a recent article by Stott and
Reicher (1998) which maintains that crowd disorder (and hooliganism for that matter) is
only partly the result of the crowd's intentions. They argue that definitions and activities
created by the groups are the result of inter-group dynamics whereby "police fears of
hooliganism (and their consequent actions) may create the very conditions in which those
fears are realized" (Stott and Reicher 1998).41 Using the methods of participant
observation they attempt to analyze the inter-group dynamics that occurred between
English fans and Italian police during the first round of World Cup 1990 in Italy (Italia
90).
During the first round of Italia 90 the English team was forced to play their
matches on the island of Sardinia as a result of fears about hooliganism on the part of
English fans. It was determined that hooliganism was most likely to occur in relation to
the match against the Netherlands since they also had significant problems with
hooliganism. Based on the actions of English fans and police perceptions and intelligence

41
The lack of page numbers for quotes from Stott and Reicher (1998) is the result of limited resources.
I was unable to gain access to a physical copy of the article directly from the journal Sociology, but I did
have electronic access to it through the world wide web which did not provide accurate pagination for the
article.

84
about them, a situation was created where English fans came into conflict with Italian
authorities in a series of violent skirmishes (Stott and Reicher 1998). While not
dismissing the actions of English fans, the authors hold that police actions helped solidify
in-group and out-group feelings which allow and accept the use of violence, even among
those who normally avoid violence. As stated by Stott and Reicher (1998: ),
once the police are seen as attacking (or about to attack) the crowd
indiscriminately, so crowd members see that they have no option but
to fight back. . . . In this way, the collective understandings of
England fans, built up out of their prior interactions with the Italian
police, explain their interpretation and reaction to police actions . . . .
Although Stott and Reicher are focused on hooliganism at a national level in an
international context, the information they provide is an interesting commentary on how
certain violent events may occur which will inevitably be blamed on hooligans.

4.3.3 Theoretical Studies

Those social scientists addressing hooliganism from a criminological perspective
have at times employed theoretical constructs to explain the occurrence of such behavior.
One of the first academic forays into the problem of football hooliganism, Taylor (1971),
set a precedent for the use of criminological theory, yet no one followed up in this
direction for the better part of twenty years. The other study discussed here, Hobbs and
Robins (1991), uses findings based on the methods of participant observation to provide
tentative support for their thesis that football has become a recurrent context for a
subculture of violence.
Taylor (1971) attempts to explain, at least preliminarily, how people come to be
identified as football hooligans based on strain and labeling theories. Taylor demonstrates
that as a section of working-class football fans become educated about the history of their
club they come to believe that the club is theirs, a value uniting all the individuals within
this football subculture. Unfortunately as the game becomes more international and
commercial, members of the football subculture become alienated, which generates a
"continuing source of ambivalence and creates the possibility of a drift into 'hooligan'

85
resistance" (Taylor 1971:153). These active members of the subculture are labeled as
thugs and hooligans by the game, the press, and the public. These are labels they don't
have the power (socially, politically, or economically) to resist. As Taylor (1971) states,
"it matters little that the terrace supporter is in all accounts the most knowledgeable and
fervent supporter of the team. In the process of societal reaction, he has become merely a
hooligan and a parasite (alighting on the soccer ground because he likes a fight)" (p. 159).
While he does not explain how to solve the problem of hooliganism, Taylor sets the stage
for further investigation of the problem from the perspective of criminology.
The most recent theoretical examination of English football hooligans is provided
by Hobbs and Robins (1991). Based on the techniques of participant observation they
attempt to illustrate that fighting is a central characteristic of "hard core" hooligans.
Hobbs and Robins (1991) go on to show that the most "hard core" individuals would
engage in violence even if the football context were unavailable, "football provides but
one environmental rationale for the implementation of a variety of violent strategies" (p.
569). The context of a football match provides well-defined territory (turf) that can be
attacked and defended by easily identifiable in-groups (home club supporters) and out-
groups (visiting club supporters).
Further, Hobbs and Robins attempt to explain why these groups rely upon fighting
and violent conflict by employing theories of gang-related delinquency, namely Wolfgang
and Ferracutti (1967) and Yablonsky (1970). They reveal that hooligan groups provide
vital affiliations for many young adults, a form of delinquent surrogate family. The
individuals involved in these hooligan gangs hold strong emotional ties to one another.
As Hobbs and Robins (1991) assert, "the mob represents something of a 'haven in a
heartless world'. Many of our respondents talked with extraordinary feeling and affection
about 'my little posse'" (p. 576). Hobbs and Robins generate insight into the relationship
between football and violence by viewing football as a context where individuals can
develop status and emotional bonds, thereby creating and reinforcing the delinquent youth
culture.

86
4.4 Using Cohen Theory to Explain Hooliganism
The literature on hooliganism repeatedly suggests that subcultural theories, like
that developed by Albert Cohen, are appropriate explanatory models for describing the
development of and involvement in hooliganism (Pratt and Salter 1984; Williams
1991w). Elements of Cohen's subcultural theory of group delinquency has been used in
some examinations of English football hooliganism and reinforces the need to make a
more concerted effort to examine hooliganism from this criminological perspective. In
fact, Murphy et al. (1990) state that "the behaviour of the English soccer hooligans seems
to conform closely in many ways to the present-centred hedonism described by [Albert]
Cohen. In short, soccer hooliganism can be understood in part as involving the usurpation
of a major professional sport by street gangs" (p. 207).
Maguire (1986) adds support to the applicability of Cohen's theory by recognizing
that distinct values and norms are held by different parts of English society, and that "the
higher and more established classes have sought, with varying degrees of success, to
regulate, supervise and control the everyday behavior of the lower, less established
classes" (p. 238). Hobbs and Robins (1991) also make the argument that the dominant
sections of society (middle- and upper-classes) are attempting to assimilate the working-
class. These assumptions are analogous to Cohen's proposition that the middle- and
lower-classes hold separate values, yet it is the values of the middle-class that
predominate (Cohen 1955). Further, working-class youths feel the dominance of middle-
class values most acutely within the school system (Shoemaker 1996). In his look at a
specific sub-grouping of Manchester United supporters, the lads, King (1997) takes an
approach that the school system is an important determinant of position and dominance.
Borrowing from other work, he takes the stance that the social positions of working-class
youths remain similar to that of their parents because of "their resistance to school, which
is regarded as the embodiment of middle-class and establishment values" (King 1997:33).
It is within the institution of the school that many young working-class males first
experience strain and status frustration. The inability to gain status and self-esteem
through school is, according to some researchers, a trait found among a certain percentage

87
of individuals who have engaged in hooliganism (Taylor 1971; Dunning et al. 1986;
Hobbs and Robins 1991; Mignon 1994). Marsh (1982) supports a belief that hooliganism
is an attempt to offset alienation and status by stating that "football-terrace culture
[hooliganism] exists, in large part, as an alternative to the uneventful, safe, and often
alienated lives that working-class youths lead [emphasis in the original]" (p. 254).
Mignon (1994) identifies a similar process of school failure occurring within certain
poorer segments of French society, especially among immigrants. Part of the reason for
delinquency and hooliganism among these sections of society is traced to a perception
that "they have not much to expect from school" (Mignon 1994:284). For Cohen, school
is the primary source of strain for lower-class males (Morrison 1995; Shoemaker 1996)
and is identified as one of the main sources of strain and frustration by Marsh (1978),
Dunning et al. (1986), and Hobbs and Robbins (1991).
One of the stronger endorsements for the use of subcultural theories of
delinquency is van der Brug's research on football hooligans in the Netherlands. Although
not specifically developed along the lines of strain or subcultural theories, he and his
colleagues found that problematic school career was a good predictor of hooliganism
when coupled with lack of parental control (van der Brug 1994). In multiple studies of
Dutch hooligans it was found that having a poor educational experience was part of a
strong predictive model with hooliganism as the dependent variable.42,43 Using Lisrel, van
der Brug's model, incorporating problematic school career and ineffective parental
control, "has explained more than 60 per cent of variations in the variable under
examination (football hooliganism)" (van der Brug 1994:179). Appropriately enough, he
goes on to argue that football hooliganism is similar to acts of delinquency in that they
share these causal factors. Although it is not a direct endorsement of Cohen's theory of

42
These findings are supported in the English quantitative study done by Farrington (reported in section
4.3) which finds that as kids hooligans had short educational careers and a lack of parental supervision
(Farrington 1994ch).

43
Unfortunately most of this research is inaccessible unless one can read Dutch, but the success of the
predictive model in successive trials is summarized in the cited article.

88
subcultural delinquency in the context of hooliganism, both school success and parental
control/supervision are factors that are incorporated into this theory.
Status frustration is produced when these lower-class youths cannot meet the
middle-class standards of performance (Akers 1994). When the frustration and strain
become too much they remove themselves from the source of their discontent, and
consequently begin to reject their wants and aspirations because it is perceived that they
cannot be attained. Some of these individuals begin to make their careers on the football
terraces because they don't see any legitimate way to acquire status (Marsh 1978). Hobbs
and Robins (1991) describe it as a process whereby the youths have "disassociated
themselves from middle class educational and occupational status hierarchies" (p. 574).
Part of Cohen's argument was that since status could not be generated from
traditional and acceptable sources those experiencing strain and status frustration would
attempt to achieve status in the eyes of similarly affected others through delinquency
(Cohen 1955). While, as previously identified, several researchers have found a similar
process occurring with regard to football hooliganism, none have made the effort to relate
it to Cohen's work. Armstrong (1994), for example, asserts that hooligans are concerned
about acquiring status, both individually and as a group, in relation to their hooligan
peers. Further,
whilst fellow hooligans can be either honoured or shamed by their
counterparts, the wider audience (i.e. the public) find the various
groups' very pursuit of honour shameful. Yet, the more the audience
think them shameful, potentially the more the Blades can obtain
honour in the smaller 'court of reputation', the hooligan gossip
network. (Armstrong 1994:301)
The process of gaining honor and reputation alluded to by Armstrong meshes well with
Cohen's (1955) predictions about status attainment through the commission of delinquent
acts.
The focus on status has recently been addressed by King. As previously stated, he
perceived that the problems in school experienced by working-class youths were a
reflection of competing norms and values. This is seen as an important explanatory factor

89
behind the hooliganistic behavior of the lads because their status is tied to the masculinity
(including fighting) achieved in the context of football (King 1997). Taking things a step
further, King sees recent developments in football and its support to be creating a more
intense competition between class-based norms and values. Attempting to cater to a more
affluent audience in recent years, football clubs have created a situation where "the lads
have faced increasing difficulty in gaining entry to the ground as a result of both
intentional and unintentional forms of exclusion" (King 1997:335). This exclusion is
perceived to interfere with the norms and values of "appropriate" team support, namely a
masculine style that embraces interpersonal conflict. The concepts and arguments made
by King bear a strong resemblance to those made by Cohen in 1955, but are focused on
the context of football rather than society as a whole.
Cohen (1955) postulates that those who reject accepted middle-class standards
will seek status and self-esteem by becoming involved in non-utilitarian, malicious,
negativistic activities that are based on hedonism and group autonomy. Most researchers
writing about hooligans maintain that youths engage in such illicit activities because of
the thrill and the excitement, which is basically hedonism (Johansson 1987; Williams
1991w; Kerr 1994; van der Brug 1994). At the center of hooligan hedonism is violent
conflict. As Allan (1989) states, "when your [sic] in the thick of the action even sex
doesn't come close to the feeling of being hyped up so much" (p. 135). The essential
nature of violence and destruction to hooligans goes beyond simple explanations of
hedonism, these activities are also malicious and negativistic. Kerr (1994:66) explains it
in the following manner,
not only does the street provide a potential source of proactive, 'just
for the hell of it', negativism through the manufacture of excitement,
it is also potentially rich in opportunities for reactive negativistic
acts during interaction with the police or other forms of authority.
By engaging in violent and destructive activities hooligans are afforded an opportunity to
gain status through their illicit behaviors (Carroll 1980; Trivizas 1981; Williams et al.
1986; Hobbs and Robbins 1991; King, 1997).

90
4.5 The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development44
The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development initiated by Donald West at the
beginning of the 1960s and later joined by David Farrington constitutes the data set used
to explore the subcultural basis of football hooliganism, and is one of the longest running
longitudinal studies to date. The study is a longitudinal analysis of the evolution of
delinquency among a normal population of boys that began at when they were age eight
or nine and continued well into their 30s (Farrington et al. 1986; Farrington 1994ch,
1995). The study is designed to "trace the influence of community, family and individual
factors, as seen at this early age [8-9], upon personality, performance and social
adjustment in later years" (West 1969:1). Key to their study is looking at the development
and nature of delinquency within the study group. As Farrington (1995:930) contends,
the original aim of the Study was to describe the development of
delinquent and criminal behaviour in inner-city males, to investigate
how far it could be predicted in advance, and to explain why
juvenile delinquency began, why it did or did not continue into adult
crime, and why adult crime usually ended as men reached their
twenties.
Although the two views of the studies purpose differ, partly as a result of development
over time, they both reflect important aspects of the study.
The study began with a sample of 411 males who lived in a working-class section
of London and were born between 1951 and 1954 (West 1982). By age 18/19, West and
Farrington were able to do interviews with 389 of the original 411 subjects (94.6 percent)
(West and Farrington 1977).45 They considered the sample to be "fairly representative of
the normal male population of that particular area and generation, and probably similar to

44
Since the project is based on data provided through the collection point at age 18/19, the focus of this
section of the review will be limited to this period.

45
They were able to remain in contact with the vast majority of subjects throughout the length of the
study. In fact, at age 32 they were able to find 378 out of the surviving 403 (94 percent) (Farrington 1995).
From first interview to the most recent they have lost only 33 subjects (8 percent), eight of whom have
passed away.

91
the population of many comparable working-class neighbourhoods" (West and Farrington
1977:1). The goal of this section of the literature review is to address some of the
concerns about the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development and the data collected
during the project. Realistically, the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development has
few detractors, and those who show the most concern about the viability, reliability, and
validity of study seem to be West and Farrington.

4.5.1 Demographics of the Study Group

It becomes readily apparent that the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development
looks at a particular segment of English society, namely young, working-class males.
There is continual debate in criminology and juvenile delinquency about limiting the
scope of a study group by gender or social class, yet there is no consensus on such issues.
These issues are addressed by West and Farrington repeatedly (West 1969; West and
Farrington 1977; Farrington et al. 1986; Farrington 1995), and have a negligible impact
on the present study since the bulk of existent research on football hooliganism shows
that the vast majority of hooligans have the same general characteristics (see section 4.1).
As previously stated, the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development provides
data on 411 working-class boys who initially attended one of six primary schools in the
London area.46 The sample focuses on working-class males for two reasons: (1) "because
a much larger sample would have been needed to produce sufficient numbers of
delinquent girls" (West and Farrington 1973:1); and, (2) "because of the prior expectation
of a high prevalence of convictions among them" (Farrington 1994ca:1). Part of the
reason for the limit in focus was purely logistic. West had limited funding and in an
attempt to statistically compare delinquents to non-delinquents the study was limited to
boys from an urban working-class area (West 1969). "Since relatively few girls become
officially registered delinquents, to obtain enough of them would have necessitated a

46
A research center was set up in the working-class neighborhood around which all the primary schools
were located. Each of the six schools selected for inclusion in the study was within a mile of the research
office (Farrington 1994ca).

92
larger sample than we could manage, and thus they were excluded from our study" (West
1982:7).
Beyond the fact that the research subjects were males living in a working-class
section of South London no other significant selection criteria; such as race,
psychological makeup, or academic ability, were used (West 1969). In choosing the boys
living in this area, West's study population was, "not a probability sample drawn from a
population, but rather a complete population of boys that age in that area at that time”
(Farrington 1995:931). In a retrospective look at the group's composition West and
Farrington (1977) were of the opinion that, "there is no reason to suppose that the sample
of 389 youths described in this book is not typical of young British working-class males
reared in urban environments" (p. 18).
The respondents in Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development are
overwhelmingly working-class, a fact not disguised by West or Farrington. Based on the
prestige of the father's occupation (as of age 8/9), as measured on the Registrar General's
Scale of Occupational Prestige, approximately 93.7 percent of the boys were working-
class. The vast majority of respondents’ fathers were employed in skilled, semi-skilled,
and unskilled manual labor (Farrington 1995). National figures at this time show that
approximately 78.3 percent of the population falls into these same categories, so this
study significantly under-represents those from higher socio-economic statuses (West
1969, 1982; Farrington et al. 1986; Farrington 1995). While such disproportionate
representation is likely to affect the generalizability of the study to some degree, limited
financial resources necessarily require difficult choices be made.
Age is generally considered to be an important issue to address in studies of
delinquency, but in this study it is an irrelevant point because the study is both
prospective and longitudinal. The present study used multiple techniques to collect data
on the sample at different intervals between the ages of 8 and 19.
The boys were tested in their schools at ages 8, 10, and 14, and
interviewed outside school at ages 16 and 18. . . . Their parents were
interviewed in their homes about once a year from when the boys

93
 were 8 until their last year of compulsory schooling at age 15, and
their teachers filled in questionnaires about them at ages 8, 10, 12,
and 14. (Farrington 1982:173)
The other important aspect of the study in terms of age is that the study is prospective.
One of the values of being prospective is that "repeated questions at regular intervals are
likely to provide more accurate estimates than retrospective questions covering a long
period" (Farrington 1982:184). The result is a study of more than 400 subjects which is
designed to look at what factors during the process of development and socialization are
important determinants of delinquent behavior (West 1969), while being "large enough
for many statistical analyses, but small enough to permit detailed case histories of the
males and their families" (Farrington 1995:932).

4.5.2 Issues of Reliability and Validity

All in all, West and Farrington are quite forthright about issues of reliability and
validity, to the point of openly discussing some of the difficulties that were experienced
in the study. They attempted to minimize any such problems by collecting the same
information through multiple methods over time, including the use of interviews,
questionnaires, tests, and content analyses. As Farrington (1994ca:vii) mentions,
[the] advantages in measuring variables from different sources are
that it helps to determine whether observed relationships reflect real
associations between theoretical constructs or measurement biases, it
helps to establish validity and reliability and it permits the reduction
of measurement error by combining variables from different sources.
While there are a few areas where these issues need to be focused upon, none is more
important that the issue of measuring delinquency.
Part of the concern in all criminological research is whether measures of criminal
behavior are reliable and valid indicators of the amount of criminality occurring within
the group. Generally the belief is that official reports result in an undercounting of
criminality, what is often described as the "dark figure" of crime, while self-reports are
thought to overestimate the level of criminal activity among respondents. The Cambridge

94
Study in Delinquent Development takes few chances by gathering both official records
and self-reports of delinquent activity. Official records of convictions for criminal
activities were done primarily through the Central Criminal Record Office in London
(Farrington 1994ca, 1994ch). According to West (1982), "at the time our record searches
came to an end the youngest member of the study was 25 years 6 months. Information is
believed to be complete on convictions for offenses committed in England up to the
twenty-fifth birthday" (p. 163). The researchers went so far as to request conviction
records for those living outside Britain during any period of the study (Farrington 1982,
1995).
Self-reports of delinquent behavior were first collected when the subjects were
14/15, and further inquiries were made during all subsequent interviews (16/17, 18/19,
21/22, and 24/25) (Farrington 1994ca, 1995). Part of the stated reason for using self-
reports of delinquency was "to see if this measure of delinquency would give results
differing from those obtained when official records were used" (West and Farrington
1973:151). In the end, West and Farrington found that their self-reports of delinquency
were valuable measures. "Our confidence in self-reports as an index of delinquency was
increased by noting the consistency between the self-report rankings of individuals at age
eighteen and those at ages fourteen and sixteen" (West and Farrington 1977:41). While
relying solely upon self-reports could create difficulties like telescoping, validity, and
reliability, using official conviction records and self-reports in tandem provides a system
of checks and balances that addresses all three possible issues.47
When comparing the official conviction records and self-reports West and
Farrington (1973, 1977) came away with similar results, bolstering the validity and
reliability of data on delinquency. Overall the value of having both sources of information
on delinquency is reflected by West and Farrington's (1973) statement that "when a
delinquency scale based solely upon the boys' self-reports was substituted for the scale
based on official records, the findings concerning the characteristics and backgrounds of

47
Maxfield and Babbie (1995) provide in-depth information about some of the possible advantages and
pitfalls of self-reports of behavior.

95
delinquents remained substantially unchanged" (p. 187). While there was some difference
between the methods, self-reports and official records provided similar results and
identified most of the same people as being the worst offenders (Farrington 1995).
In an attempt to deal with possible problems of reliability, West and Farrington
used a large number of repeated measures. Not only would they ask for the same
information over different collection points, they also attempted to get the information
through multiple methods and sources. With few exceptions, most of the repeated
measures provided similar results (West 1969). West and Farrington attempted to assess
concerns about inter-rater reliability on multiple occasions, especially when it came to
interviews with parents and personal interviews with the subjects (West 1969, 1982; West
and Farrington 1973, 1977). One of the ways they addressed inter-rater reliability was to
tape record the personal interviews in addition to having the interviewer take written
notes. The goal was to ensure that the results of the interviews were as reliable as possible
and that lapses and biases of individual interviewers would be minimized (West and
Farrington 1977).48
One important area that has bearing on the use of Cohen's theory concerns
measures that were taken within the school setting. An important aspect of the Cambridge
Study in Delinquent Development is the data provided by teachers who filled out
questionnaires about each respondent. The questionnaires were completed by different
teachers at each collection point, so evaluations were done when the boys were 8/9,
10/11, 12/13, and 14/15 (West 1969; West and Farrington 1973).49 The purpose of asking
the same questions of different teachers at different collection points was to look for
consistency over time, therefore enhancing the reliability of the school-based data.

48
Having recorded versions of the interviews also allowed West and Farrington to detail specific case
histories relating to any number of topics.

49
The questions asked at age 8/9 were replicated at 10/11. The questions were altered slightly when
asked at 12/13 but were then replicated at 14/15. So while the content of some questions changed between
primary and secondary school, similar information was asked for and replicated at least once.

96
 Concerns about the validity of the study, or the questions therein, fail to appear
with any regularity. Many important tests, scales, rankings, and questions were replicated,
sometimes with minor modifications, from other studies. One example of the attempt to
improve the validity of the study can be found when looking at the initial teacher
questionnaires which were modeled after those suggested by J.W.B. Douglas (West
1969:11). Many important components of the study were achieved with the cooperation
of other researchers.

4.5.3 Unresolved Problems Encountered in the Study

A host of difficulties can be encountered in any research project, especially those
of a longitudinal variety (see West and Farrington 1973; Farrington 1982). The
Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development had its share of difficulties, ranging from
refusals for interviews to changing governmental regulations about collecting data on
school students. Fortunately many of these issues were resolved sufficiently to have a
negligible impact on the study, but two lingering and inter-related issues remain
unresolved: (1) information collected by psychiatric social workers and (2) refusals for
interviews by parents and later the subjects.
West employed psychiatric social workers to conduct home interviews with the
subjects' parents (West 1969). One of the unresolved concerns about the psychiatric social
workers was their reliability in collecting information about the parents and the home
environment. The main aspect of concern centered on what West described as a negative
halo effect in which the assessor perceives the overall situation to be all good or all bad
based on certain factors or findings (West 1969, 1982; West and Farrington 1973). This
problem was most readily perceived to occur when the psychiatric social workers were
required to make subjective ratings of the home situation, such as whether or not the
home is dilapidated.
While it could be perceived that there was incompetence on the part of the
psychiatric social workers involved in the project, there were several other factors that
should be introduced. First, the family interviews were complex, difficult, and at times

97
tedious, especially in cases where the parent(s) was uncooperative (West 1969:60-66).
Second, there were a few anomalous cases where difficulties in familial relationships may
have been missed (West and Farrington 1973:145). This is not a problem encountered
only by ill-prepared psychiatric social workers, but may occur to any researcher. Third,
psychiatric social workers attempted to correct inconsistencies when recording their
information by reviewing tapes of the interviews, and they compiled case summaries
which gave the researchers greater insight into the family and the difficulties that arose
(West 1969:155). So while there are lingering concerns about the validity and reliability
of the data collected by psychiatric social workers, not all of the problems should be
attributed to the psychiatric social workers and attempts were made to minimize their
effects. Even with the apparent concerns and difficulties, parental interviews by
psychiatric social workers "took place about once a year from when the boy was about 8
until when he was aged 14-15 and in his last year of compulsory education (Farrington et
al. 1986:341).
As previously mentioned, and should be expected in any study, not all of the
parents were cooperative about being interviewed. Even when parents consented to
personal interviews they were not always candid about certain information, sometimes
not knowing answers and at other times refusing to answer specific questions (West
1969). In all, "parents of 22 boys had to be written off as total refusers and in a further 21
cases parental co-operation was very reluctant and the information obtained . . . was
correspondingly scanty or unreliable" (West 1982:10).
A related concern about the parental interviews has to do with the methods that
were employed. Psychiatric social workers were given a great deal of freedom, sometimes
being provided little more than a subject sheet. In addition, West (1982) points out that
"there was inadequate pre-testing of the reliability of the interview methods used to obtain
information from parents" (p. 7). The conclusion reached in the study was that there were
limitations to the type and amount of data that could be elicited from parental interviews.
Over time some of the subjects also became recalcitrant about getting involved in
further interviews. The interviews done at age 18 involved more than 94 percent of the

98
original subjects (389 of 411); however, 64 of the subjects were somewhat uncooperative,
but eventually agreed to do the interview. Persistence seemed to be the key as financial
enticements were perceived to have limited effectiveness. Farrington et al. (1986) state
that "of the 22 youths missing at age 18, one had died, one could not be traced, six were
abroad, 10 refused to be interviewed, and in the other four cases the parents refused on
behalf of the youth" (p. 341). Even with the loss of 22 cases over a ten year period the
Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development experienced less attrition than most other
longitudinal studies (Farrington 1982; West 1982).

4.5.4 Strengths of the Study

While there are concerns about reliability and validity, and a couple of unresolved
issues, none of these makes the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development untenable.
At the same time, it is important to briefly identify a couple of important features of the
study. While it is not the first, largest, or most comprehensive longitudinal criminological
investigation, the study is "probably the first to combine the following features:
delinquency as the focus of interest; use of a cohort of unselected, normal children; and
observations (including interviews) repeated over a substantial span of time" (West
1969:7).
The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development is also an important and useful
study because of what it can contribute to the theoretical aspects of crime and
delinquency. The study and its data are not driven by a specific set of theories or
hypotheses, but was designed to test multiple, competing theories and look at previously
unexplored causes of behavior, especially delinquency (West 1969; Farrington 1994ch,
1995). A further advantage is that data were collected on the subjects prior to the age of
criminal responsibility (age 10), ensuring that proper time order can be achieved in
statistical computations (Farrington 1995). By collecting data starting at age eight and
continuing well into adulthood, West, Farrington and others are able to explore
developmental factors that could contribute to delinquency over time, as well as develop
and test theories of crime and delinquency.

99
 CHAPTER V
MATERIALS & METHODS

Cohen's theory on the subcultural nature of delinquency has not been effectively
tested, and the literature on football hooliganism reveals that it may be useful in
describing why certain youths become involved in such activities. The present endeavor
is designed to explore the feasibility of using a modified version of Cohen's theory of
subcultural delinquency as an explanation of English football hooliganism in the late
1960s and early 1970s. The parameters of the revised version of Cohen's theory have been
set out previously (see chapter 3), and the central aspect of the theory focused on in this
study is the degree to which the working-class respondents adhere to middle-class values,
specifically success, self-reliance, constructive leisure and acceptable conduct. Thus the
driving hypothesis of the study is as follows:
H0: Hooligans and non-hooligans equally adhere to the same middle-class
values.
Ha : Hooligans are less likely to adhere to middle-class values than their non-
hooligan counterparts.
The rest of this section is designed to layout the design of the study, the measurement of
key variables, and the analytic strategy.

100
5.1 The Data Set
Donald West and David Farrington's Cambridge Study in Delinquent
Development (CSDD) is employed to quantitatively investigate the proposed
hypothesis.50 The CSDD is a prospective longitudinal study that began in 1961 and
focuses on the development and delinquent behavior of a cohort of London youths
(Farrington 1982). The survey population is comprised of 411 boys living in a working-
class section of London when they were between eight and nine years of age. Data was
collected on the whole sample five times between the ages of eight and 18, and during
this period they lost only 22 of the original 411 (94.6 percent of the starting population)
(West and Farrington 1973).51
A majority of the information provided in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent
Development was derived from personal interviews with the youths. West and Farrington
also collected data on the youths through psychological tests, self-report questionnaires,
and interviews with the boys' parents, peers, and teachers (Farrington 1994ca).
Additionally, the investigators made "repeated searches in the Central Criminal Record
Office in London to try to locate findings of guilt sustained by the boys, by their parents,
by their brothers and sisters, and (in recent years) by their wives" (Farrington 1994ca:iii).
The resultant data set provides detailed information on numerous aspects of the subjects'
lives, which makes it possible to "test many hypotheses about delinquency, investigate the
relative importance of variables, and to study the importance of some variables while
controlling for others" (Farrington 1994ca:vii). The CSDD provides researchers with an
in-depth, longitudinal data source which addresses a wide array of aspects of the lives of a
cohort of London youths.

50
The study will use the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research’s (ICPSR)
second edition of this data, which was first available in November of 1994.

51
Subsequent interviews of subsets of the population were conducted at 21 and 24 years of age. This
data will not be used in the present study since the CSDD, as archived at ICPSR, concludes after the
interviews at age 18/19.

101
 The data itself is contained in a single data file consisting of more than 800 items
covering most aspects of the youths development over a ten year span. This data file is
comprised of information related to the their home lives, social lives, school performance
and behavior, teacher and parental evaluations, self-reported delinquency, official
conviction records, and football-related behavior. The study provides behavioral and
contextual data on the youths beginning at age 8/9 in order to be used to predict and
explain future involvement in delinquency within a normal working-class population of
London youths (West 1983).

5.2 Measurement of the Study's Variables

This section describes the primary dependent, independent, and control variables
used in the study. It deals with the selection of the items to be incorporated into the study
and the development and reliability of scales that were developed to more accurately
represent some concepts.

5.2.1 Football Hooliganism

Football hooliganism is the primary dependent variable in the present study. It is a
designed from a group of four self-reported items about behavior at football matches that
was addressed in the CSDD's follow-up at 18/19. The items ask about the respondents'
involvement in fights at football matches and whether they had been apprehended at
matches from 1968 to 1971, such as "In the past year have you been arrested at a football
match?" (West and Farrington 1977; Farrington 1994ca). Fighting and arrests were each
asked twice, first covering the past year's activities and the second time inquiring about
the previous two years. While hooliganism was not the central focus of West and
Farrington's work on the CSDD, they found that football matches were a popular location
for fights. West and Farrington report that 7.9 percent of all fights reported by the
respondents took place within the context of football matches (both inside and outside the

102
stadia) (West and Farrington 1977). Refer to Appendix A for a complete listing of the
items on hooliganism.
Each item was dichotomous, with "yes" and "no" response categories, and there is
a total of 389 valid cases for each item. The separate fighting and apprehension questions
were then combined into more general measures in an attempt to determine if the
behavior was infrequent or persistent. The next step was to combine the two general
items into a single measure of football hooliganism. The final item has a range of 0 to 3,
where 0 means that the respondent never engaged in acts of hooliganism and a respondent
with a score of 3 is persistently engaged in hooliganism.
There are several benefits to the questions on football hooliganism that West and
Farrington inquired about. First, asking about such behavior at age 18/19 is beneficial
because it taps hooligan behavior from approximately ages 16 to 19, which coincides
with the bulk of research findings that show hooligans to be relatively young (between 14
and 21 years of age). Second, the timing of the questions is important because it provides
information on the first generation of modern hooligans (mid-1960s to the present), a
group that is quite distinct from hooligans of previous eras. Little is known about the
social, personal, and criminal backgrounds of this generation of hooligans; consequently,
this study can provide important insight into them and their behavior. Unlike their
successors, they did not have a group of mentors from which to model their behavior at
football matches.52 This first generation of modern English hooligans eventually took on
the role of mentor in the 1970s, teaching subsequent groups of aspiring hooligans the
appropriate techniques and behaviors. In the modern era of hooliganism these mentors,
referred to as "Daddies of the Ends" often tutored younger individuals (a) to recognize
available opportunity structures, (b) to acquire the skills necessary to successfully engage
in acts of hooliganism, and (c) to understand how to rationalize and explain such behavior
(Bryant 1990; Wallace 1994).

52
These mentors are derived from previous generations of hooligans. In this era there were no adequate
models from previous generations because the phenomenon changed quantitatively and qualitatively during
the 1960s, including the development of hooligan crews (for more detail see chapter 2).

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5.2.2 Cohen's Middle-Class Values
The revised version of Cohen's middle-class values, including; success,
constructive leisure, self-reliance, and acceptable conduct are the primary independent
variables in the present study. For the revised middle-class values a number of items were
identified as possible components for each value, and the complete list of items can be
found in Appendix A. The frequencies on each set of items was then checked to
determine whether they would be useful in further analyses. Items were dropped for
having an excessive number of missing cases (more than 15 percent of the overall sample
size) and for having excessive levels of skewing (skewness > 2.00).53 The next step was
to run each set of items through factor analysis. After determining which factor the items
were most strongly loaded upon in the rotated (varimax rotation - orthogonal) component
matrix (a value of 0.50) reliabilities were run upon each factor (Kerlinger 1986).54 A
determination was then made about the effectiveness of combining these items into a
useful construct based on the reliabilities of the scales using a standard on Chronbach's
alpha of
.70 (Nunnally 1978).55 The end result of this process was the development of
scales to represent each revised dimension of Cohen's middle-class values. All of the
items are continuous, with low values reflecting a strong adherence to the middle-class
value and high values reflecting a weak or non-existent adherence to the value.

53
There is no set standard for what level of skewing makes an item problematic and possibly a non-
valid predictor. Even so, skewed items indicate a non-normal frequency distribution based on the
difference in value of the mean and median for the item (Blalock 1972; Sirkin 1995; Agresti and Finlay
1997).

54
The choice of the varimax (orthogonal) rotation method for a factor analysis solution is based on the
fact that it is perceived to be “much simpler to understand and interpret” than other rotation methods (Kim
and Mueller 1978:50). Further, Kim and Mueller indicated that any rotation method provides adequate
solutions.

55
It seems that few people are willing to tackle the issue of minimal scale reliability based on
Chronbach’s alpha. Nunnally (1978) suggests that constructs having “modest” reliabilities of .70 or higher
will suffice for early tests of hypothesized constructs (p. 245). In contrast, Carmines and Zeller (1979) do
not provide a guideline, minimum acceptable score, for the development and testing of new scales, yet “as
a general rule, we believe that reliabilities should not be below .80 for widely used scales” (p. 51).

104
 Success. The revised middle-class value of success revolves around the institution
of the school, which Cohen perceives to be the key to prosperity. As a concept, success is
multifaceted and broadly incorporates the elements of aspiration and achievement
(especially in school), delayed gratification, and a determination to get ahead. While there
were numerous items which could legitimately fit into this concept, the hope was to come
away with a single factor that represented success. Several items were eliminated early on
because they were strongly skewed, had an excessive number of missing cases, or failed
to adequately embody the conception of this middle-class value. Even so, this meant that
there were still 13 items to be molded into a measure of success. Five of these items were
universal measures of school-related concepts that were measured on multiple
occasions.56
A factor analysis on the remaining 13 items revealed that the items tapped into
four distinct dimensions of success rather than a single one. The factor loadings of the
items on the orthogonally rotated factor matrix were then used to test the reliability of
each factor. Three of the factors provided a Chronbach's alpha greater than the .70
standard, including; a primary school scale of items describing hard work and aspiration
(
= .8149), a factor measuring overall school performance and ability (
= .7592), and a
secondary school measure of hard work and aspiration (
= .7703). The primary school
scale was ultimately dropped in favor of the secondary school measure since it was
determined that a lack of ambition, aspiration and hard work at this level would have a
more acute effect upon youths' desire to uphold the middle-class value of success.
While the desire was to come away with a single scale representing the concept of
success, the two selected factors seem to more adequately reflect this middle-class value.
The items included in these two factors are:

56
The five universal measures included a primary school teacher rating of laziness (measured at ages
8/9 and 10/11), a primary school teacher rating of the subjects' attempt to be a credit to their parents
(measured at ages 8/9 and 10/11), an overall estimate of the respondents' class positions throughout their
schooling, a secondary school teacher rating of laziness (measured at 12/13 and 14/15) and a secondary
school teacher rating of the subjects' attempt to be a credit to their parents (measured at 12/13 and 14/15).

105
 Factor 3 - Success in School: Performance (SSP) - designated school
tracking level (TRCKNG); junior school attainment scores, a combined measure
created by West and Farrington to reflect scores on math, verbal reasoning and
English (JRSCMBAT); and age upon leaving school (LFTSCH2).

Factor 2 - Success in School: Hard Work and Striving (SSW) -

respondent's class position by quartile (POSCLASS); secondary school teachers
ratings of youth's attempt to be a credit to their parents (CRPRNT2); and
secondary school teachers ratings of the boy's laziness in school (LAZY1215).
These two factors measure distinct and equally important aspects of success as they relate
to the environment of the school, specifically they address the elements of aspiration and
achievement (factor 3) and a determination to get ahead (factor 2).

Self-Reliance. The middle-class value of self-reliance looks relatively straight

forward since it is comprised of only one of Cohen's middle-class values, namely
individual responsibility, but in reality this one may have caused the most difficulties.
Initially nine items were found to reflect at least some aspect of self-reliance, but upon
closer inspection it was found that parental supervision (PSUPERV) was actually a
combined measure of two other items, parental rules (PRULES) and parental vigilance
(PVIGLNT). As such, parental supervision was dropped in favor of the two individual
items since no details could be found on how and why parental rules and vigilance were
combined. The descriptives on the eight items revealed no items with an excessive
number of missing cases, but engaging in solitary activities was removed as a result of
excessive skewing.
The seven remaining items were then factor analyzed and three components were
extracted. Using the orthogonal (varimax) matrix as a guide, the items loading on each
component were tested on scale reliability using Chronbach's Alpha. Unfortunately none
of the three scales provided an alpha above a .70 standard (
= .5605, .3360, and .0856

106
respectively), but in order to have at least one measure of each revised middle-class value
for subsequent hypothesis testing, the most reliable of the three was retained.
The factor selected to represent self-reliance contains three items:
Factor 1 - Self-Reliance (SR) - adventersomeness of the respondent
(ADVENT); quality of parental rules (PRULES); and parental vigilance over the
boy (PVIGLNT).
The scale developed from these three items reflects how much freedom the parents allow
their boys to have at age 8/9 and embodies the idea that youths' upholding middle-class
values are reluctant to turn to others for help and are resourcefulness.

Constructive Leisure. Constructive leisure focuses on planning and engaging in

behaviors that may be of future value while avoiding frivolous activities. The key
elements of constructive leisure included; planning of events, constructive and
wholesome activities, efficient allocation of resources (budgeting time), and avoidance of
betting. There were a total of 9 items that matched these elements and were included in
the initial analysis. The descriptive statistics on these items revealed that the item on the
boys' frequency of outside activities (FREQACT) had a large number of missing cases
(19.7 percent) and was eliminated. The item on the number of juvenile convictions was
strongly skewed (skewness = 4.947), but was retained since there is an expectation that
only a small percentage of juveniles will ever be convicted, thus strongly skewing the
response distribution. Since there was a relatively small number of items these were
retained for factor analysis.
The factor analysis on the constructive leisure items resulted in the identification
of three components. The first two components had eigenvalues well over 1.0 and the
other one was slightly below 1.0, at .998. Component 3 was removed when the rotated
component matrix revealed that there was only one item loading on it. The remaining two
factors then underwent reliability analysis, which revealed that only factor 2 was reliable
enough to use. The three items that comprise factor 2 had a reliability coefficient of
=
0.7098. The reliability could have been increased if the CLUBS item was dropped, but it

107
was the only one that measured activities other than sports and games. Factor 1 fared
decently in the reliability analysis (
= .6309) with all four items and .6229 when
DRUGS was removed), but was eliminated since factor 2 was revealed to be more
reliable.
The results of these analyses provides one legitimate scale of constructive leisure,
what could accurately be described as engaging in wholesome activities. This scale is
represented by the following items:
Factor 2 - Constructive Leisure (CL) - attendance of youth and sports
clubs (CLUBS); involvement in games and sports (SPORTS); and involvement in
organized games and sports (ORGSPRT).
Since this is an extension of the ideals of rationality and planning, the factor seems to fit
well into this dimension of Cohen's middle-class values.

Acceptable Conduct. Acceptable conduct was a construct developed around a

common thread of self-control that existed in two of the middle-class values proposed by
Cohen. The commonality in these two values suggests that the key elements of a
combined measure include the ability to get along with others, the ability to excel at
secondary group relationships, and staying in control of one's physical body. Initially 16
items, several of which were combined measures, were found that would likely fit at least
some aspect of acceptable conduct. Upon closer inspection the item on fighting
seriousness was removed since any type of fighting, regardless of seriousness, fails to
uphold the middle-class ethos. Descriptive statistics were run on the remaining items and
revealed that two other factors (respondents' obedience and respondents' level of
defiance) be removed because of an excessive number of missing values.
A factor analysis was then performed on the 13 items in an attempt to come away
with a scale that would accurately represent the middle-class construct of acceptable
conduct. The factor analysis revealed that there were 4 components with an eigenvalue
above 1.0 and a fifth component with an eigenvalue of .989. The orthogonally rotated

108
component matrix then revealed that each factor was comprised of at least two items, so
reliabilities were run on each set of related factors.
Factors 2, 4, and 5 were eliminated as a result of the reliability analyses which
revealed that none had a Chronbach's alpha above .70 (.5739, .6293, and .1933
respectively). Factor 1 was found to be a relatively good scale construct, having a
reliability of
= 0.8449. Factor 1 is composed of the following items:
Factor 1 - Acceptable Conduct: Behavior (ACB) - how much the boy
acts out (ACTOUT); a combined measure of conduct disorder based on teacher
and parent information (CDCOMB); an overall primary school teacher rating
(TRCMB); and a combined teacher rating of troublesomeness (TRUBLC).
The other remaining component, factor 3, also performed well in reliability analysis, with
a reliability of
= .7906. This factor has only two items:
Factor 3 Acceptable Conduct: Friendmaking (ACF) - combined
measure of teachers' rating on the respondent's popularity (TRPOPLR) and a
combined measure of the boy's ability to make friends as rated by teachers
(TRFRDMK).
The result of the analyses on acceptable conduct revealed two factors of strong reliability
which reflect very different aspects of this middle-class construct. Factor 1 is a behavioral
measure of controlled conduct while factor 3 reflects the interpersonal ability to develop
good secondary group relationships.

5.2.3 Gang Activities Outside the Football Context

The birth of the modern era of football hooliganism in England is generally
thought to be tied to the presence of gangs and gang members at matches who facilitate
criminal activities and respond to the challenges made by others (see chapter 2). The
inclusion of a gang variable in the present analysis is designed to address this
development and test whether or not it is a significant predictor of hooligan behavior at
the beginning of the modern era.

109
 The CSDD provided two different ways to measure the gang activities of the
respondents outside of the context of football. The gang measure used for this study is
derived from the self-reported delinquency questions that were asked of the youths at ages
14/15 and 16/17, and is the only one that adequately avoids problems of time order.57 The
self-report items on gangs inquired as to whether or not the respondent had been involved
in non-football affiliated gang activities. The responses to the gang question at age 14/15
and 16/17 were combined into a more universal measure of whether or not the youth had
engaged in gang activities at any time up to age 16/17.
The reason for combining the two items is because neither question puts the
behavior into a specific time frame, and a lack of consistency was found when a cross-
tabulation was done. There were a total of 34 cases where the youth answered that they
had been involved in gang activities at one follow-up and that they had not been involved
in gang activities at the other follow-up.58
The more universal measure of self-reported gang activities (GANG) that was
developed is a dichotomous variable, taking a "have you ever" format. The result is a
variable that asks the youths if they ever engaged in gang activities outside of football up
to age 16/17, and provides the response categories of "never" and "at least once".

5.2.4 Controls
A number of different possible control variables were initially conceived of, from
socio-economic status and parental education to measures of delinquent peers and
criminal family members. Realistically three control items stood out as important; a
measure describing the social handicaps of the family, whether or not the youth spent any

57
The other measures create possible time order problems since it was asked during the same follow up
as the questions on hooliganism and covers the exact same period of time (last year and the previous two
years).

58
While there were some cases where the youth answered that they were only involved during the
follow-up at age 16/17, the more problematic inconsistency was when the youth responded that they were
involved in gang activities at 14/15 but not at 16/17. Since there is no indication of a time frame on either
question it was felt that the best course of action was to combine them into a more universal measure.

110
time prior to age 15 in a single parent home, and a measure of differential association
based on the delinquency of the respondent's peers.

Social Handicaps (FAMDISAD). While the youths involved in the Cambridge

Study could broadly be described as working-class, it is conceivable that there is a great
degree of variance in the socio-economic statuses represented by this categorization. If, as
Cohen predicted, all working-class youths are introduced to middle-class standards and
are expected to uphold them (at least in the context of school), differences within social
class standing should have no impact upon hooliganism.
Most studies would employ a measure such as socio-economic status or parental
occupation in order to look at differences within the group, and that was the initial plan
for this study. The situation changed upon recommendations garnered from West and
Farrington's manuscripts on the CSDD, where they found that the item "social handicaps"
was a good, robust indicator of overall socio-economic status, often being a better
predictor than more traditional measures (West and Farrington 1973). The item social
handicaps is an assessment of family standing and material standards comprised of
measures like "'poor housing', 'interior of rooms neglected', 'family supported by social
agencies', 'mother has no paid job', 'erratic paternal work record', and 'boy physically
neglected'" (West and Farrington 1973:30). Since West and Farrington found this item to
be more useful than many other measures of relative socio-economic standing within the
working-class, it is employed as a control measure in the present study.

Single-Parent Family (BRKNHM). The literature on delinquency and home

situation often debates the effect growing up in a single-parent family (broken home) has
on juveniles, and thus far no consensus has been reached. It was felt that such a variable
would be a good control in the present study, especially since it might reveal that
adherence to middle-class values is mitigated by the parental structure of the home.
The CSDD provides information on the parental structure of the respondent's
homes at two periods of time, age 10/11 and age 14/15. Both items identify whether the

111
respondent spent time in a single-parent family up to the time of measurement. In order to
check the reliability of the later item to see if it was inclusive of cases found in the initial
query, the two items were combined and the descriptive statistics were compared. The
results showed that the measurement taken at age 14/15 was identical to the combined
measure, with 76 youths (9.2 percent) growing up in a single-parent family.
The initial items inquired about the reason behind the existence of a broken home,
dividing responses into death and other reasons (including desertion, divorce and
separations) (West and Farrington 1973; Farrington 1994ca). As the data provided by the
items are at a nominal level a decision was made to simplify this control into a
dichotomous variable reflecting whether or not the youth experienced a broken home
situation at any time up to age 15.

Differential Association (DIFFASS). A measure based on Edwin Sutherland's

theory of differential association provides a valuable control in any test of delinquency
theory, and enough information was provided in the Cambridge Study to create just such
a measure. The central items in the development of a measure of differential association
asked the respondents about the level of delinquent involvement of friends and
acquaintances. The questions on friend and aquaintance delinquency were asked at age
14/15 and 16/17. The items from age 14/15 are the only ones used in the present study
since, for unexplained reasons, the measurement at 16/17 was modified in an unspecified
manner.
The individual questions on friend and acquaintance delinquency are both ratio
level measures with a possible range of 0 to 38.59 These two items were combined into a
single, continuous scale based on the results of factor analysis which revealed that they
loaded on the same component. The adequacy of making the separate measures into a

59
The respondents provided self-reported data on their delinquency at age 14/15. Each of the 38
questions asked how often they engaged in a particular form of delinquency. They were subsequently asked
whether they had any friends or any acquaintances who had also engaged in these same types of
delinquency. The items for friend's delinquency and acquaintance's delinquency are derived from the
responses provided to these queries.

112
scale was confirmed through reliability analysis. In the reliability analysis the scale items
provided a Chronbach's alpha of .9134. Thus the variable designed to represent the
delinquent propensities of the youths’ peers will act as a control in the prediction equation
that football hooligans are less likely to adhere to middle-class values than their non-
hooligan counterparts.

5.3 Analytic Strategy

The data provided by the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development provides a
unique opportunity for an in-depth quantitative analysis of English football hooliganism
right at the leading edge of the modern era. The present study will calculate all statistical
information using SPSS 7.5.1, the Standard Version for Windows.
Since a number of the key variables for the study have been developed through the
use of factor and reliability analyses and the code book for the CSDD does not provide
any statistical results for existing measures, the first step will be to provide univariate
statistics for all study items. Bivariate analyses will be performed after reporting on the
descriptive statistics for the items. Included within this portion of the analysis will be
correlations for independent, dependent, and control variables to determine the direction
and magnitude of relationships between the variables (Hanushek and Jackson 1977). The
other bivariate analyses to be done for the present study are independent samples t-tests of
each of the items measuring adherence to middle-class values on a recoded, dichotomous
measure of hooliganism (HUULI). The hope is to find that there is a significant difference
in adherence to the middle-class values for hooligans and non-hooligans, with hooligans
having higher mean scores on the formulated values than non-hooligans.
The final step of the statistical analyses will be the use of multivariate statistical
procedures to more thoroughly examine the predicted relationship between adherence to
middle-class values and hooliganism. The primary multivariate procedure for the project
is multiple regression. After initial regression analyses using only the independent

113
variables, appropriate control variables will be added to the regression analyses to
determine whether the hypothesized relationship holds up under these conditions.

114
 CHAPTER VI
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

This chapter is divided into three sections, beginning with a univariate analysis of
the study group and key variables. The second and third sections are based on bivariate
and multivariate statistics respectively. Statistical information will be provided and the
results of the analyses will be discussed throughout each section.

6.1 Univariate Statistics

Throughout each of West and Farrington's reports on the Cambridge Study in
Delinquent Development (CSDD) (1969, 1973, 1977, and 1982) they provide a
significant amount of descriptive data about the composition of the study group. The
CSDD is a prospective longitudinal study of 411 boys who lived in a working-class
section of London at the time of the first data collection in 1961 and 1962, at which time
the respondents were age 8/9. As West and Farrington (1973) report, 93.9 percent (n =
386) of the boys were "white in racial appearance and reared by parents who were
themselves brought up in the United Kingdom or Eire" (p. 1).
Based on the Registrar General's Scale of social class, only 6 percent of the
sample could be identified as coming form a family from the upper- or middle-classes
(West and Farrington 1973:43). Each youth’s socio-economic status was determined from
the status of the job they held at age 18/19, whereby it was found that only 5.4 percent (n

115
= 19) of the 349 classified youths were in occupations that could be classified as
professional, managerial, or clerical. The remaining 330 of 349 (94.6 percent) were either
unemployed or in skilled, semi-skilled, or non-skilled manual occupations (West and
Farrington 1977:183). Another interesting finding is that 24.1 percent (99 of 411) of
CSDD respondents came from large families (four or more siblings), while 11.2 percent
(46 of 411) of the boys were only children (West and Farrington 1973).60

6.1.1 Study Variables

The range, mean, standard deviation, number of valid and missing cases, and
skewness are reported for each of the dependent, independent, and control variables in
Table 1. For scaled variables composed from factor and reliability analyses the final
Chronbach's alpha for all included items is reported in parentheses.
Looking more closely at the items, it can be seen that no item contains more than
63 missing cases, which would represent more than 15 percent of the total sample size.
Only two items, football hooliganism and single-parent home are strongly skewed
(beyond 1.0). Those variables with a range beginning at zero represent items where there
is a possible response of "no", "never", or "none". Each of the middle-class values items
has a range beginning at 1, representing the most middle-class adaptation to that
particular value, while the highest possible score shown in the range for each one
represents the most working-class adaptation to that same middle-class value.
Two measures of the dependent variable football hooliganism are shown in Table
1, the first (HOOLIGN) is a grouping variable defining different levels of hooligan
involvement at an ordinal level. The other measure of football hooliganism (HUULI) is a
dichotomous variable that is used for t-tests (reported in section 6.2). The 22 missing
cases are those cases which could not be reached for the interviews at age 18/19. Of the

60
These descriptive statistics were replicated with the data set, as used in the present study, to ensure
that the data file was set up correctly.

116
 TABLE 1

Univariate Statistics for Dependent, Independent and Control Variables

Variable Description Valid Mean Standard Possible Skewness

DATA NAME - (Scale
) Cases Deviation Range Coefficient

DEPENDENT VARIABLES

Football Hooliganism 389 .18 .56 0-3 3.39

HOOLIGNS (22)

Football Hooliganism - Dichotomous 389 .12 .32 0-1 2.37

HUULI (22)

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

Gang Activities Outside Football 393 .32 .47 0-1 .76

GANG (18)

Middle-Class Values

Constructive Leisure 390 3.60 2.08 1-7 .36

CL - (
= .71) (21)

Acceptable Conduct: Behavior 411 6.08 3.37 1-13 .43

ACB - (
= .85) (0)

Acceptable Conduct: Friendmaking 368 4.756 1.33 1-9 .16

ACF - (
= .79) (43)

Self-Reliance 367 4.00 1.23 1-7 .23

SR - (
= .56) (44)

Success in School: Performance 384 7.60 2.65 1-13 -.32

SSP - (
= .76) (27)

Success in School: Hard Work & Striving 348 7.17 2.52 1-13 -.02
SSW - (
= .77) (63)

CONTROL VARIABLES

Social Handicaps of Family 411 .69 .69 0-2 .50

FAMDISAD (0)

Single-Parent Family 411 .19 .39 0-1 1.63

BRKNHM (0)

Delinquency of Peers: Differential Association 405 37.37 15.22 0-76 .23

DIFFASS - (
= .91) (6)

117
389 valid cases, 46 (11.8 percent) reported that they had engaged in some form of football
hooliganism at least once.61
Looking more closely at each of the variables which represent each of the aspects
of Cohen's middle-class values, there are a few important things to note. First, the middle-
class values are all designed as continuous variables, with low scores representing a
middle-class orientation to the values and high scores representing a working-class
orientation to the values. Second, each of the variables has a relatively low skewness
coefficient, meaning that there is a broad range of actual responses that are fairly evenly
distributed. Third, each of the variables has a value on Chronbach's alpha above
= .55,
and all but self-reliance has a value exceeding
= .70.
The other independent variable, gang behavior outside football is dichotomous,
separating those who have not engaged in any gang activity from those that have engaged
in at least one gang activity. This item reveals that 32.3 percent (127 of 393) of the youths
in the study have engaged in at least one gang activity outside of the football context by
age 16/17. While these results are skewed toward those who have never engaged in gang
activities, the skewness coefficient remains acceptable at .76.
Of the three control variables shown in Table 1, only the measure of differential
association is a continuous item. The level of social handicaps of the respondent's family
and whether or not they spent time in a single-parent family prior to age 15 are both
grouping variables, with the later being dichotomous. The social handicaps variable is
scored on the relative level of problems identified with the youth's family, with 0 = none,
1 = moderate, and 2 = severe. The responses are fairly evenly distributed, with only 182
of the 411 cases (44.3 percent) having no discernable inadequacies. The other 55.7
percent of the boys are in families that have at least moderate difficulties. This variable

61
From age 16 to 19, the approximate time frame for the measure of football hooliganism, 61.2 percent
of all respondents (238 of 389) reported that they had attended at least one football match during the same
span. So of those who attended at least one football match, 19.3 percent (46 of 238) engaged in at least one
act of hooliganism.

118
has no missing cases, as it was the focus of the initial interviews with the youth's
parent(s).62
The dichotomous measure of whether the respondent grew up in a single-parent
family prior to age 15 is another item for which there were no missing cases. This
information could be provided from a number of sources (the respondents, teachers, and
parents), so parental interviews were not the only source for this information. The
frequencies for this item reveal that 18.5 percent (n = 76) of the boys did spend time in a
single-parent family. Since 81.5 percent of the youths did not spend time in this particular
family structure the skewness coefficient is relatively high, 1.63. The item is important
for the present study and is retained since the skewing cannot be remedied.63
The final control included in this study is a measure of differential association.
More specifically, this variable is a measure of the amount of delinquency in which the
respondent's peers (both friends and acquaintances) are engaged. This continuous item
has a possible range of 0 to 76, and there is at least one response at both extremes.
Looking at the skewness coefficient, it is relatively low, .23, revealing a well spread
distribution on this variable.
Overall, based on the univariate statistics there are no glaring problems with the
variables included in the analysis. While there is skewing on the dependent variable and
one of the controls, single-parent family, there is nothing that can be done to reduce the
skewness coefficient in either case. The variables representing the middle-class values
have more missing cases than either the controls or the dependent variables, but none of
them have an excessive number of missing cases. Based on the information provided by

62
Most of the markers used to determine the family's social handicaps were based on visual information
rather than responses provided by the parents. So even though a minority of parents refused to be
interviewed, information could be gathered based on physical appearance.

63
West and Farrington (1973) compare the number of single-parent families in the CSDD to those
reported in the National Child Development Study of the early 1960s and another national survey. They
find that these studies have similar levels of single-parenthood at similar ages, with single-parent homes
being slightly more prevalent in the CSDD than the other two studies.

119
the univariate statistics, all of the variables will be included in bivariate and multivariate
statistical procedures.

6.2 Bivariate Statistics

Two types of bivariate statistics were employed in the present study, t-tests and
correlations. The t-tests were run to find out if there were significant differences between
hooligans and non-hooligans on their adherence to Cohen's middle-class values and
involvement in gang activities outside football. The correlations were run for more the
informative purpose of finding out if there was a significant relationship between any of
the variables.

6.2.1 Independent Samples T-Tests

Independent samples t-tests were done on each middle-class value scale against
the dependent variable - football hooliganism. The dichotomous measure of football
hooliganism (HUULI) was employed for these analyses. The results of the independent
samples t-tests of each middle-class value on football hooliganism is presented in Table
2.
As shown in Table 2, there was a statistically significant difference in adherence
to middle-class values among hooligans and non-hooligans on only two of the six
variables. The mean score on constructive leisure was 3.44 for hooligans and 3.63 for
non-hooligans. Contrary to expectations, hooligans adhered slightly more closely to this
middle-class value than their counterparts, but the difference is not statistically significant
(p = .534).64 Also non-significant in this analysis is the mean difference for hooligans and
non-hooligans on both measures of the middle-class value of acceptable conduct,

64
One possible explanation for this finding is that constructive leisure is laden with items asking about
participation in sports activities. Often those people attending football matches are also playing the game,
at least at a recreational level, which would be picked up by items comprising constructive leisure.

120
 TABLE 2

Independent Samples T-Tests:

Mean Differences for Football Hooligans and Non-Hooligans on Middle-Class Values

[On the middle-class values (cl, acb, acf, sr, ssp, and ssw) higher scores indicate a
weaker adherence to middle-class values]

Middle-Class Values Football Hooliganism - HUULI

(DATA NAME)
Mean for Mean for
Hooligans Non-Hooligans
Constructive Leisure 3.44 3.63
(CL) (n = 46) (n = 332)
Acceptable Conduct: Behavior 6.17 5.99
(ACB) (n = 46) (n = 343)
Acceptable Conduct: Friendmaking 5.00 4.71
(ACF) (n = 42) (n = 310)
Self-Reliance 4.60*** 3.91***
(SR) (n = 42) (n = 310)
Success in School: Performance 7.82 7.55
(SSP) (n = 45) (n = 321)
Success in School: Hard Work and Striving 8.28** 6.98**
(SSW) (n = 39) (n = 293)

***p  .001 **p  .01 *p  .05

121
behavior (p = .736) and friendmaking (p = .139). The mean value for football hooligans
on acceptable conduct: behavior was 6.17 while the mean for non-hooligans was 5.99.
Similarly, the mean value for hooligans on acceptable conduct: friendmaking was 5.00
and for non-hooligans the mean was 4.71. The final non-significant mean difference is on
the middle-class value of success measure - success in school: performance. In this case,
non-hooligans have a mean score of 7.55 and hooligans have a mean score of 7.82, which
is non-significant with a p = .503. In all but one of these cases, constructive leisure, the
difference is in the expected direction, albeit non-significant, with hooligans being less
likely to adhere to the particular middle-class value than their counterparts.
Looking at the significant results, two different middle-class values reveal
significant differences in the means for hooligans and non-hooligans. In the case of self-
reliance, it is revealed that non-hooligans significantly more likely adhere to the middle-
class value of self-reliance (
= 3.91) than their hooligan counterparts (
= 4.60), which
is a highly significant difference (p = .001). The other significant mean difference (p =
.005) is for success in school: hard work and striving (SSW). Non-hooligans have an
average of 6.98 on success in school through hard work and striving whereas hooligans
have an average score of 8.28.
Additional t-tests were run for each of the controls and the independent variable
of gang behavior. These were run in order to find out if there were any significant
differences between hooligans and non-hooligans for each of these items. The results of
these t-tests are provided in Table 3. Among the control variables, the differences in the
means was in the expected directions, with hooligans slightly more likely to be in
disadvantaged families, to come from a single-parent home, and to have more delinquent
peers than non-hooligans, but none of these relationships was statistically significant. The
level of significance achieved on familial disadvantage was p = .245, for single-parent
home it was p = .606, and p = .294 for delinquent peers. In contrast to these results, it was
found that hooligans had an mean of .54 on gang activities while the mean of non-
hooligans was only .29, meaning that hooligans were slightly, but significantly, more
likely to engage in non-football related gang activities (p = .002) than their counterparts.

122
 TABLE 3

Independent Samples T-Tests:

Mean Differences for Football Hooligans and Non-Hooligans on
Gang Activities and Controls

Variable Football Hooliganism - HUULI

(DATA NAME)
Mean for Mean for
Hooligans Non-Hooligans
Gang Activities Outside Football .54** .29**
(GANG) (n = 46) (n = 337)
Social Handicaps of R's Family .80 .67
(FAMDISAD) (n = 46) (n = 343)
Single-Parent Home Prior to Age 15 .22 .18
(BRKNHM) (n = 46) (n = 343)
Delinquency of Peers: Differential Association 39.85 37.09
(DIFFASS) (n = 46) (n = 341)

***p  .001 **p  .01 *p  .05

123
6.2.2 Correlations
Correlations fail to provide any level of causation regarding the relationships
between variables. However, they do contribute valuable information on whether or not
variables are related to one another and how significant the relationships are. Table 4
provides a complete correlation matrix, including levels of significance, for all of the
variables used in this study. While correlation is most appropriate for interval and ratio
level data, it is an adequate, yet imprecise, statistical tool for ordinal level data (Blalock
1972; Kerlinger 1986; Norušis n.d.).
While it is disappointing to see that some of the middle-class values, constructive
leisure, acceptable conduct: behavior, and success in school: performance are not
correlated significantly with hooliganism, the value for constructive leisure is the most
unusual because it does not run in the expected direction. One reason for the direction of
this relationship may lie in a likelihood that they play football, which is identified as a
form of constructive leisure (see note 61). The inter-correlations between some of the
middle-class values shows that the different dimensions are related in a statistically
significant manner. At the same time, the moderate significance to these relationships
implies that each is measuring something unique, adding to the reliability of the different
scales. Another interesting, and unexpected, finding is that the measure of differential
association is significantly correlated with four of the six measures of adherence to
middle-class values. While the correlations are modest at best, the implication is that the
more working-class one's orientation is on each of the middle-class values (ACB, SR,
SSP, and SSW) the more delinquent friends and acquaintances the person will have.

6.3 Multivariate Statistics

In this section the results of several regression analyses are presented. All of these
regressions are done under the premise that all of the Ordinary Least Squares assumptions
are being upheld. The regression equations are divided into two sections, those run
without controls and those run after controls were added to the equations.

124
 TABLE 4

Correlation Matrix for All Dependent, Independent and Control Variables

Correlations with Level of Significance in Parentheses

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

DEPENDENT VARIABLES

1 - Football Hooliganism 1.00

(.)

2 - Football Hooliganism As a .90** 1.00

Bivariate (.000) (.)

INDEPENDENT
VARIABLES

3 - Gang Behavior Outside .21** .18** 1.00

Football (.000) (.000) (.)

4 - Constructive Leisure -.01 -.03 -.04 1.00

(.798) (.557) (.454) (.)

5 - Acceptable Conduct: .04 .02 .19** .09 1.00

Behavior (.401) (.731) (.000) (.081) (.)

6 - Acceptable Conduct: .11* .07 .08 .09 .09 1.00

Friendmaking (.049) (.190) (.135) (.114) (.074) (.)

7 - Self-Reliance .19** .18** .23** -.00 .31** -.01 1.00

(.000) (.001) (.000) (.958) (.000) (.895) (.)

8 - Success in School: .06 .03 .27** .20** .47** .14** .19** 1.00
Performance (.264) (.514) (.000) (.000) (.000) (.008) (.000) (.)

9 - Success in School: .20** .17** .22** .11 .40** .30** .29** .33** 1.00
Hardwork and Striving (.000) (.002) (.000) (.054) (.000) (.000) (.000) (.000) (.)

CONTROL VARIABLES

10 - Social Handicaps of the .10* .06 .17** .09 .34** .12* .34** .31** .17** 1.00
Family (.042) (.209) (.001) (.082) (.000) (.019) (.000) (.000) (.002) (.)

11 - Single-Parent Family .03 .03 .10 .12* .07 .02 -.05 .05 -.03 .17** 1.00
(.533) (.583) (.051) (.017) (.188) (.698) (.384) (.315) (.600) (.001) (.)

12 - Delinquency of Peers: .06 .06 .36** -.07 .19** -.04 .27** .19** .23** .17** .09 1.00
Differential Association (.227) (.246) (.000) (.155) (.000) (.458) (.000) (.000) (.000) (.001) (.063) (.)

Level of Significance: **p
.01 *p
.05

6.3.1 Multiple Regression Models without Control Variables
Three distinct regression models are presented in this section on multivariate
statistics. Table 5 presents the results of the prediction model where football hooliganism
is regressed upon all of the revised middle-class values. While the model is significant
(Prob>F = .000), in this model there is a single independent variable, self-reliance, that is
highly significant, and two independent variables of questionable significance, acceptable
conduct: friendmaking and success in school: hard work and striving.65 In the present
configuration approximately 9 percent of the variance of football hooliganism is
explained by the six measures of middle-class values.
Based on the findings of the regression model presented in Table 5, a reduced
model was then calculated using the three middle-class values that were the most
significant. The results of the reduced model is presented in Table 6. This model also is
found to be statistically significant (Prob>F = .000), and the combination of acceptable
conduct: friendmaking, self-reliance, and success in school: hard work and striving
explain 6.7 percent of the variance in football hooliganism. The removal of the other
three middle-class values does not improve the significance of the remaining values.
Acceptable conduct: friendmaking and success in school: hard work and striving are still
only marginally significant, p = .098 and p = .076 respectively, while self-reliance
remains significant at the level of p
.01.
The final regression model presented without controls regresses football
hooliganism on all of the middle-class values and gang activities outside football, Table
7. In this model the magnitudes of the three most significant middle-class value scales
change, but remain significant at the same level as previous models. The added
independent variable of non-football ganging is significant (p = .013), and boosts the
percent of the variance explained in the equation to approximately 11 percent;
consequently, gang activities is a valuable, and significant,

65
Most regression modeling limits statistical significance to p
.05, but since this is a test of a new
theoretical development it was thought to be important to identify those items which were also marginally
significant.

126
 TABLE 5

Football Hooliganism Regressed on All Middle-Class Values

[On the middle-class values (cl, acb, acf, sr, ssp, and ssw) higher scores indicate a
weaker adherence to middle-class values]

N = 298 Football Hooliganism

(HOOLIGNS)

Independent Variables (DATA NAME) b

Constructive Leisure (CL) -.01 -.04
(-.65)
Acceptable Conduct: Behavior (ACB) .00 .00
(.03)
Acceptable Conduct: Friendmaking (ACF) .05* .11
(1.76)
Self-Reliance (SR) .09*** .18
(2.86)
Success in School: Performance (SSP) .00 .02
(.27)
Success in School: Hard Work and Striving (SSW) .03* .13
(1.82)

Constant -.56

R2 .088

Adjusted R2 .067
The b's are the unstandardized regression coefficients, shown with their t-ratios in parentheses. The
's
are the standardized regression coefficients.

* p
.10 ** p
.05 *** p
.01 **** p
.001

127
 TABLE 6

Football Hooliganism Regressed on the Three Most Significant Middle-Class Values

[On the middle-class values (acf, sr, and ssw) higher scores indicate a
weaker adherence to middle-class values]

N = 298 Football Hooliganism

(HOOLIGNS)

Independent Variables (DATA NAME) b

Acceptable Conduct: Friendmaking (ACF) .04* .10
(1.66)
Self-Reliance (SR) .07*** .17
(2.80)
Success in School: Hard Work and Striving (SSW) .02* .11
(1.78)

Constant -.47

R2 .067

Adjusted R2 .058
The b's are the unstandardized regression coefficients, shown with their t-ratios in parentheses. The
's
are the standardized regression coefficients.

* p
.10 ** p
.05 *** p
.01 **** p
.001

128
 TABLE 7

Football Hooliganism Regressed on All Middle-Class Values and Gang Activities

[On the middle-class values (cl, acb, acf, sr, ssp, and ssw) higher scores indicate a
weaker adherence to middle-class values]

N = 270 Football Hooliganism

HOOLIGNS

Independent Variables (DATA NAME) b

Constructive Leisure (CL) -.01 -.03
(-.48)
Acceptable Conduct: Behavior (ACB) .00 .00
(.02)
Acceptable Conduct: Friendmaking (ACF) .05* .11
(1.72)
Self-Reliance (SR) .08*** .16
(2.52)
Success in School: Performance (SSP) -.00 -.02
(-.21)
Success in School: Hard Work and Striving (SSW) .03* .11
(1.67)
Gang Activities Outside Football (GANG) .19** .15
(2.51)

Constant -.51

R2 .109

Adjusted R2 .085
The b's are the unstandardized regression coefficients, shown with their t-ratios in parentheses. The
's
are the standardized regression coefficients.

* p
.10 ** p
.05 *** p
.01 **** p
.001

129
addition to the prediction model without much adverse effect upon the middle-class
values.

6.3.2 Multiple Regression Models with Control Variables

This section uses the three models discussed in the previous section and adds the
control variables of familial disadvantage, single-parent home, and delinquency of peers.
The first model, Table 8, regresses football hooliganism upon all of the middle-class
values, with the addition of the three controls. The only variable of real significance in
this model is the middle-class value of self-reliance (p = .012), all other independent and
control variables are non-significant at the p
.05 level. Acceptable conduct:
friendmaking and success in school: hard work and striving retain a level of significance
similar to the models that did not include control variables (p
.10). The percent of
variance in football hooliganism explained in this model, nearly 9 percent, is almost the
same as the amount of variance explained by its regression counterpart which is absent of
control variables (Table 5). When the two models are compared, it reveals that the
addition of controls fails to modify the relationship between middle-class values and
football hooliganism.
The next regression equation adding control variables is the reduced model of
middle-class values. The control variables in this equation are non-significant, but
seemingly have a greater impact on the significance of the three middle-class values,
leaving only self-reliance and success in school: hard work and striving significant at the
p
.10 level, or better. The results of the reduced model of football hooliganism on
middle-class values, with the addition of controls, is presented in Table 9. The F-statistic
for this model has a value of 3.63, meaning that the model is significant at the .002 level.
While the addition of controls does eliminate the limited significance of acceptable
conduct: friendmaking, the overall results are not entirely dissimilar from the regression
model of the three most significant middle-class values regressed upon football
hooliganism without controls (Table 6). As a result, it appears that the addition

130
 TABLE 8

Football Hooliganism Regressed on All Middle-Class Values and Controls

[On the middle-class values (cl, acb, acf, sr, ssp, and ssw) higher scores indicate a
weaker adherence to middle-class values]

N = 270 Football Hooliganism

(HOOLIGNS)

Independent Variables (DATA NAME) b

Constructive Leisure (CL) -.01 -.04
(-.66)
Acceptable Conduct: Behavior (ACB) -.00 -.01
(-.09)
Acceptable Conduct: Friendmaking (ACF) .05* .11
(1.70)
Self-Reliance (SR) .08** .17
(2.54)
Success in School: Performance (SSP) .00 .02
(.20)
Success in School: Hard Work and Striving (SSW) .03* .13
(1.82)

Control Variables
Familial Disadvantage (FAMDISAD) .03 .04
(.64)
Single-Parent Home Prior to Age 15 (BRKNHM) -.00 -.00
(-.03)
Delinquency of Peers: Differential Association (DIFFASS) -.00 -.00
(-.02)

Constant -.54

R2 .089

Adjusted R2 .058
The b's are the unstandardized regression coefficients, shown with their t-ratios in parentheses. The
's
are the standardized regression coefficients.

* p
.10 ** p
.05 *** p
.01 **** p
.001

131
 TABLE 9

Football Hooliganism Regressed on the Three Most Significant Middle-Class Values

and Controls

[On the middle-class values (acf, sr, and ssw) higher scores indicate a
weaker adherence to middle-class values]

N = 298 Football Hooliganism

(HOOLIGNS)

Independent Variables (DATA NAME) b

Acceptable Conduct: Friendmaking (ACF) .04 .10
(1.63)
Self-Reliance (SR) .06** .15
(2.27)
Success in School: Hard Work and Striving (SSW) .02* .11
(1.66)

Control Variables
Familial Disadvantage (FAMDISAD) .03 .04
(.67)
Single-Parent Home Prior to Age 15 (BRKNHM) -.00 -.03
(-.46)
Delinquency of Peers: Differential Association (DIFFASS) .00 .02
(.34)

Constant -.47

R2 .069

Adjusted R2 .050
The b's are the unstandardized regression coefficients, shown with their t-ratios in parentheses. The
's
are the standardized regression coefficients.

* p
.10 ** p
.05 *** p
.01 **** p
.001

132
of the controls in this reduced model has little impact on the relationship between these
middle-class values and football hooliganism.
The final multiple regression model in this present study, presented in Table 10,
includes all independent and control variables. This model uses all of the middle-class
value scales and gang activities outside of the football context to predict football
hooliganism while controlling for familial disadvantage, family structure, and delinquent
peers. In this model there are only two highly significant independent variables, self-
reliance (b = .08, p = .019) and gang activities (b = .21, p = .009). Success in school: hard
work and striving is of limited significance (p = .077), yet is more significant than in the
regression model of all independent variables without the inclusion of control variables
(Table 7). The full model, incorporating all independent and control variables, explains
11.3 percent of the variance in football hooliganism. It is important to note that none of
the control variables included in this model are significant, with the measure of
differential association having the greatest effect (p = .410). So while few of the middle-
class values remain significant with the addition of controls, the measure of differential
association, or any other controls, cannot be said to be a better predictor of football
hooliganism than a revised version of Cohen's middle-class values.

133
 TABLE 10

Football Hooliganism Regressed on All Middle-Class Values, Gang Activities,

and Controls

[On the middle-class values (cl, acb, acf, sr, ssp, and ssw) higher scores indicate a
weaker adherence to middle-class values]

N = 270 Football Hooliganism

(HOOLIGNS)

Independent Variables (DATA NAME) b

Constructive Leisure (CL) -.01 -.03

(-.54)

Acceptable Conduct: Behavior (ACB) -.00 -.01

(-.09)

Acceptable Conduct: Friendmaking (ACF) .04 .10

(1.57)

Self-Reliance (SR) .08** .16

(2.37)

Success in School: Performance (SSP) -.00 -.02

(-.21)

Success in School: Hard Work and Striving (SSW) .03* .12

(1.78)

Gang Activities Outside Football (GANG) .21*** .17

(2.64)

Control Variables

Familial Disadvantage (FAMDISAD) .04 .05

(.70)

Single-Parent Home Prior to Age 15 (BRKNHM) -.02 -.01

(-.17)

Delinquency of Peers: Differential Association (DIFFASS) -.00 -.06

(-.83)

Constant -.44

R2 .113

Adjusted R2 .079

The b's are the unstandardized regression coefficients, shown with their t-ratios in parentheses. The
's are the
standardized regression coefficients.

* p
.10 ** p
.05 *** p
.01 **** p
.001

134
 CHAPTER VII
DISCUSSION

The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) is an important, and

high quality, longitudinal data set. The CSDD provides a wealth of information for the
prediction of future delinquency, and by West and Farrington’s own admission, the
design of the study was to provide measures that correspond with a number of theoretical
propositions rather than a detailed examination of any single theory (West 1969;
Farrington 1995). While the CSDD is not designed for a comprehensive test of Cohen’s
theory of subcultural delinquency, it provided a large number items which could be used
to represent each of the modified middle-class values originally proposed by Cohen. Even
though the study proves challenging when trying to find measures of certain concepts, the
breadth of the study’s information, the willingness of others to rely upon these data, and
the existence of questions inquiring about self-reports of football hooligan activities
provide highly attractive reasons for utilizing the CSDD in the present study.66
Upon an initial review, the statistical results appear meager, if not disappointing,
with respect to the ability of Cohen’s theory of middle-class values to predict youthful
involvement in football hooliganism. In actuality, the results, while modest, are
encouraging. The nine middle-class values originally proposed by Albert Cohen in his

66
Even though the items on football hooliganism were lacking on detail, they do provide an opportunity
to do one of the few, large scale and detailed quantitative studies of the phenomenon in England at the
beginning of the modern era in 1966/7. Further, the data set is broad enough to try and predict football
hooliganism from a number of criminological perspectives.

135
1955 theory of subcultural delinquency underwent significant revision with the
consolidation of these concepts into four more distinct, and more readily testable
dimensions of middle-class expectations about appropriate behavior and lifestyles.
Together, these four revised middle-class values - constructive leisure, acceptable
conduct, self-reliance, and success - explain slightly less than 10 percent of the variance
in football hooliganism, even when subject to controls (see Table 5 and Table 8).
Multiple regression analysis reveals that only three of the six middle-class scales
developed for this study are significant at a level of p
.10, with the scale of self-reliance
having significance higher than the generally accepted standard of p
.05. At the
bivariate level, using independent samples t-tests, hooligans and non-hooligans are found
to be significantly different (p
.05) on the middle-class constructs of self-reliance and
success in school: hard work and striving.
The addition of gang activities outside football as an independent variable
improves the multiple regression prediction equation, without adversely affecting the
significance of the middle-class values scales. Table 7 reveals that the gang activities
variable is a highly significant predictor of hooligan behavior (p = .013), and this variable
improves the amount of explained variation in football hooliganism from 8.8 percent
(middle-class values only) to 10.9 percent (middle-class values and gang activities).
There is also a significant relationship between the gang activities variable and football
hooliganism at the bivariate level. T-tests reveal that hooligans are significantly more
likely to engage in gang activities unrelated to football than their non-hooligan
counterparts (p
.01).
Taken at face value the results initially fail to provide strong support for Cohen’s
theory of subcultural delinquency as a predictor of football hooliganism. Yet when taking
a closer look at what is uncovered and the normal difficulties experienced when using
secondary data,67 it is fair to say that the project yields some encouraging and significant

67
The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development was invaluable for trying to quantitatively predict
football hooliganism with Cohen’s theory of subcultrual delinquency, yet there were instances where the
data set did not have items which accurately represented the middle-class constructs that were created.

136
results. Although the middle-class values scales did not perform as well as expected,
especially in terms of levels of significance, all but one of the scales, constructive leisure,
ran in the predicted direction – hooligans were found to be more working-class in their
orientation to Cohen’s middle-class values and were also more likely to be engaged in
gang activities outside the context of football than non-hooligans. The results also
provide support for the conclusions reached by Kelly and Balch (1990), finding that
school and status influence youthful involvement in delinquent activities, in this case
football hooliganism.
A second important result of this study deals with the issue of theoretical
comparison. The measure of differential association used in this study was designed to be
a control variable, in order to try and modify or nullify the relationship between Cohen’s
theory of subcultural delinquency and football hooliganism. But ultimately, this variable
had little impact. Even when looking at the bivariate relationship between differential
association and football hooliganism, the results were non-significant. On independent
samples t-tests, hooligans were slightly, but not significantly (p = .294) more likely to
have delinquent peers than their non-hooligan counterparts (
hooligans = 39.85 and
non-
hooligans = 37.09) (Table 3). The correlations presented in Table 4 also acknowledge the lack
of a significant relationship between hooliganism and differential association r = .06.
While it would be premature to state that Sutherland’s theory of differential association is
an unsuitable predictor of football hooliganism, the present inquiry reveals that it is an
inferior predictor of hooligan behavior, when compared with Cohen’s theory of
subcultural delinquency.
The other two control variables, familial disadvantage and single-parent family,
each had a negligible impact on the prediction of football hooliganism. The lack of
significance of these controls implies that in the prediction of football hooliganism the
influence of spending time in a single-parent family and the relative socio-economic
status within the working-class are inconsequential.

137
7.1 Present Considerations and Future Research
While the findings of this study provide limited statistical support for Cohen’s
subcultural theory of delinquency as a predictor of football hooliganism, there are a few
possible difficulties which should be taken into account when using this theory. Time is
one of the issues which should be considered when evaluating the findings of this study.
Cohen identified the existence of these middle-class values in the 1950s. Over the next 10
to 15 years the emphasis placed on these values may have diminished in favor of other,
more current standards for living.
A second factor which may impact the results stems from the applicability of the
middle-class values Cohen identified. These middle-class values, and their subsequent
modification, were based on guidelines that Cohen found in the United States and may
not readily parallel those found in England. For all of the similarities between England
and the United States, there are still vast cultural differences which could mitigate the
effectiveness of these values in cultures outside the United States. It could well be that the
respondents were feeling strain at the inability to meet existing English middle-class
standards and subsequently joined together to engage in delinquency and hooliganism, as
would be predicted by Cohen’s theory of subcultural delinquency.
Consideration of these chronological and cross-cultural variations may be of value
when engaging in future research on football hooliganism, especially as they relate to
Cohen’s theory of subcultural delinquency. When looking at the future of football
hooliganism from a criminological perspective, there are two areas that appear
encouraging based on present findings. One need is further comparisons between English
football hooliganism and gang behavior in both the United States and England. It would
be valuable to know what similarities and differences exist in all of these subcultural
forms. These comparisons may yield information which would facilitate further theory
testing in football hooliganism based on the predictive models that have proven effective
with respect to gang behavior. This research may also help identify similarities and
differences in value orientations and the importance of status between these groups,
allowing for better tests of Cohen’s theory of subcultural delinquency in the future.

138
 On another front, one of the important results from this study is the importance of
the revised middle-class value of self-reliance when attempting to predict football
hooliganism. The findings continually indicate that football hooligans are less self-reliant
than their non-hooligan counterparts which indicates that reliance and support from peers
has a significant effect upon hooligan behavior. The value of Sutherland’s theory of
differential association as a predictive framework for football hooliganism should be
addressed in greater detail because of the role self-reliance played in this study, and the
existence of research which reinforces the fact that football hooliganism almost always
requires group, rather than individual, involvement.

7.2 Concluding Remarks

Finally, as one of the first quantitative studies to research the feasibility of using
criminological theory to predict and explain football hooliganism, the findings may seem
relatively meager. In actuality, these modest results are promising, and they do provide an
important starting point for future endeavors. I would encourage the continued use of the
CSDD for the purpose of trying to explain football hooliganism criminologically, as this
aspect of the phenomena is relatively pristine territory that could benefit from further
exploration. While the modified version of Cohen’s middle-class values did not realize
initial expectations, it would be premature to call the modification a complete failure. As
indicated in previous sections, further research and testing may yet demonstrate that this
modified version of Cohen’s theory of subcultural delinquency, especially differential
adherence to middle-class values, is a useful and significant predictor of both football
hooliganism and delinquency in general.

139
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 APPENDIX A

DESCRIPTION OF MEASURES68

Dependent Variable
Football Hooliganism. The dependent variable is an ordinal level measure comprised
of four individual items asked at age 18/19. The responses for each item were coded
0=not known or ascertained; 1=yes; and 2=no.

FIGHTS (includes those taking place inside and outside the grounds)
In fight at football match - last year
In fight at football ground - previous two years
APPREHENSIONS (includes those taking place inside and outside the grounds)
Apprehended at football match - last year
Apprehended at football match - previous two years

Independent Variables
Middle-class value of constructive leisure. This scale is comprised of three items
asked at the age 16/17follow-up, which were derived from a set of eight items that were
identified as reflecting an aspect of this middle-class value. Those items marked by an
asterisk (*) were included in the final scale.

ITEM DESCRIPTION (age when asked) DATA NAME

Combined teacher rating of truancy taken at age 12/13 and 14/15 TRTRNTC2
Attendance of youth, non-sports and sports clubs (age 16/17) *CLUBS
Involvement in individual and group (team) (age 16/17) *SPORTS
Involvement in officially organized sports (age 16/17) *ORGSPRT
Combined level of self-reported delinquency at age 14/15 and 16/17 LVLDEL
Self-reported del. measure of underage betting at 14/15 and 16/17 DEL33
Universal measure of four types of drug use at age 16/17 DRUGS
Official record of the number of convictions as a juvenile JUVCVT#

Middle-class value of acceptable conduct. Of the initial 16 items identified as relating

to acceptable conduct, only 13 were used in factor analyses because of difficulties with

68
The one difficulty with describing the questions is that the specific form of the question is not
provided in the code book or in any of West and Farrington’s reports on the Cambridge Study in
Delinquent Development.

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the other three items (see section 5.2.2). This middle-class value was focused on the use
of appropriate behavior in all situation and the ability to “make friends and influence
people”. The asterisked (*) items are those which make up the sub-component focused on
behavior, while those marked by a plus sign (+) represent the items making up the final
sub-dimension of friendmaking.

ITEM DESCRIPTION (age when asked) DATA NAME

Dichotomous measure of whether the boy acts out (is difficult) (8/9) *ACTOUT
West and Farrington’s combined measure of conduct disorder (8/9) *CDCOMB
Parental estimation of the boy’s ability to make friends at 8/9 FRIEND#
Measure of youth’s temperament from interviewer evaluation (8/9) OUTGNG
West and Farrington’s comb. measure of the boy’s daringness (10/11) DARECMB
West and Farrington’s peer ratings of popularity scale (8/9 and 10/11) PRPOPC
Primary school rating of troublesome behavior - West and Farrington *TRUBLC
West and Farrington’s measure of the primary school teacher rating *TRCMB
Additive measure of popularity from teacher ratings (12/13 and 14/15) +TRPOPLR
Comb. teacher rating of boy’s ability to make friends (12/13 and 14/15) +TRFRDMK
West and Farrington’s teacher rating of boy’s aggressiveness (12/13) TRAG1213
West and Farrington’s teacher rating of boy’s aggressiveness (14/15) TRAG1415
Respondent’s adjustment at home as of age 16/17 ADJHM

Middle-class value of self-reliance. The seven items listed below were perceived to
address some aspect the youth taking individual responsibility for themselves or their
behavior. The items marked by an asterisk (*) are those which compose the final self-
reliance scale.

ITEM DESCRIPTION (age when asked) DATA NAME

Parental estimation of how adventurous their child is (8/9) *ADVENT
Quality of the discipline provided by the father (8/9) FDISCQ
Quality of the discipline provided by the mother (8/9) MDISCQ
Rigidity of parental rules and their enforcement (8/9) *PRULES
Measure of watchfulness and supervision of the parent(s) (8/9) *PVIGLNT
Measure of how easily the boy may be led into trouble by others (14/15) EZLYLD
Identification of whose decision it was to leave school (14/15) LEVSCWO

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 Middle-class value of success. All of the following items were identified as possible
components of a success construct, and were asked at any point from 8/9 to 16/17. Items
marked with an asterisk (*) were combined into the sub-dimension performance, while
those marked with a pound sign (#) make up the sub-dimension of hard work and striving
in secondary school. One last group to identify, marked with a plus symbol (+), are those
that make up the hard work and striving in primary school that was not used in the present
study.

ITEM DESCRIPTION (age when asked) DATA NAME

Combined primary school teacher rating of hard working behavior +LAZY811
Combined secondary school teacher rating of hard working behavior #LAZY1215
Overall primary school teacher rating of trying to be a credit to parent(s) +CRPRNT1
Secondary school teacher rating of trying to be a credit to parent(s) #CRPRNT2
Tracking (streaming) level in school as of age 10/11 *TRCKNG
West and Farrington’s overall teacher rating from primary school +TRCMB
Test attainment results - math, English, and verbal reasoning (age 10/11) *JRSCMBAT
Overall measure of the youth’s class position (age 12/13 and 14/15) #POSCLASS
Boy’s level of school performance at age 14/15 PERFSCH
Participation in apprenticeships at age 16/17 APPSHIP
Taking university classes at age 16/17 UNIVRSTY
Engaged in job training at age 16/17 TRNJOB
Final age at which the respondent left school (18/19) *LFTSCH2

Gang activities. This independent variable is made up of an item asked at successive

data collection points (14/15 and 16/17). While it is the same question at both intervals,
no time frame was identified, and by combining the items concerns about inconsistency
are avoided. The final item is a dichotomous variable identifying whether or not the
respondent had ever engaged in hooliganism, with 0=never and 1=at least once.

ITEM DESCRIPTION (age when asked) DATA NAME

Belonging to a gang (of ten or more people) who go around together,
making a row, and sometimes get into fights or cause a disturbance GANGACT
Belonging to a gang of ten or more people who go around together,
making a row, and sometimes get into fights or cause a disturbance GANGACT2

Control Variables
Familial Disadvantage. This variable is a composite measure developed by West and
Farrington designed to measure each family’s relative position within the working-class
based on a locus of items about family problems. The final coding of the level of familial
disadvantage is based on the existence of 7 specific deprivations of condition 0=none (no

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conditions present); 1=moderate (1 to 3 conditions present); and 2=severe (4 or more
conditions present).

ITEM DESCRIPTION (original item used in the measure) DATA NAME

Social handicap is derived from: FAMDISAD
1. family being supported by social agencies (FAMAGEN)
2. family has the lowest socio-economic status (V - manual) (FAMSES)
3. family housing is not satisfactory (HMCOMF)
4. interior condition of family housing is identified as neglected (HMCARE)
5. family income is considered inadequate (FAMINC)
6. the respondent is determined to be physically neglected (PHYNEG)
7. the respondent lives in a large family (FAMSIZE)

Single-parent family. As identified in section (5.2.4), this item identifies whether the
boy spent any time in a single-parent home up to age 15. The original items asked at 8/9
and 14/15 separated the reason for the permanent separation, death or other reasons. The
end product of these items is a single dichotomous measure of family structure up to age
15 (BRKNHM), with 0=no time in a single-parent family and 1=time spent in a single-
parent home.

ITEM DESCRIPTION (original item used in the measure) DATA NAME

Broken home before age 10 BRKHM10
Broken home before age 15 BRKHM15

Measure of differential association. This control variable is designed to provide an

estimate of the level of delinquency in which the respondent’s friends and acquaintances
are involved based on the responses to an item about the delinquency of each group. The
outcome of the two items (DIFFASS) is a continuous item with a range of 0 to 76, with
0=no friends or acquaintances involved in delinquent activities and 76=friends and
acquaintances involved in the full range of 38 delinquent activities inquired about at age
14/15. After initially asking about whether the respondent engaged in 38 different forms
of delinquency it was asked if they had friends or acquaintances involved in these
behaviors. The two items reflect the responses.

ITEM DESCRIPTION (original item used in the measure) DATA NAME

Reported delinquency of the respondent’s acquaintances - raw scores DELACQRW
Reported delinquency of the respondent’s friends - raw scores DELFRDRW

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 APPENDIX B

FOOTBALL, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD’S SPORT

FOOTBALL / SOCCER / FUTEBOL / VOETBAL / CALCIO / FUSSBALL

Soccer, the world's game, is a fluid game of both intricacy and power, requiring a team to
work effectively as a unit in order to be ultimately successful. Teams challenge one
another for 90 minutes (2 - 45 minute halves), working continually to gain superiority,
both offensively and defensively over their opponents. Soccer is not a difficult game to
understand as long as you are provided with some of the basics - playing the ball and
possession; scoring; players and positions; the field and in-play v. out-of-play; fouls; and
a basic glossary and phraseology.

PLAYING THE BALL & POSSESSION

Players can legally play the ball with any part of their body except the hands and arms.
This means that a player can use their head, chest, thigh, foot, and even shoulder to
legally play the ball.

There is no limitation on how long a player can hold the ball, but it is unusual to find a
single player playing the ball continuously for more than a few seconds before passing it
along to a teammate (hopefully).

Fortunately only one ball is in play at any given time. This means that players have to put
themselves into positions that will enable them to both receive the ball and distribute it to
others. It also means that it is easier to follow the progress of play.

No team is guaranteed possession of the ball, nor are they limited in the amount of time
they have the ball in their possession. This means that the opposing team can take the ball
at any opportunity and begin to attack the other team's goal. Having, and keeping,
possession of the ball requires both skill and teamwork.

Possession of the ball does not require that the ball moves continually forward. In fact,
sometimes the best and smartest passes will be made sideways and backwards, allowing
the team to regroup and begin to attack again.

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SCORING

While teams may play a beautifully flowing game and others will play a choppy, if
somewhat disorganized, game, the desire is to beat your opponent by outscoring them.

Scoring is done by legally playing the ball into the opposing team's goal (an area 8 yards
wide and 8 feet high). This means that a player can kick, head or even chest the ball into
the goal. As you will come to see, scoring may be accomplished through any number of
scenarios - free-flowing play, set plays, and even by a player accidently putting the ball
into their own goal.

Each goal is worth 1 point, regardless of where or how the goal was scored. Scoring a
goal has also created a unique argot often referring to putting the ball into the back of the
opponent's net.

Part of what makes soccer such a scintillating sport is that players are expected to both
defend their own goal and offensively attack the other team's goal.

PLAYERS & POSITIONS

Soccer begins with 11 players on the field for each team.

One player on each side, readily identifiable as unique, stands out from the rest of the
team in uniform as they're the designated goalkeeper. The goalkeeper has the ultimate
responsibility of being the final line of protection of the goal s/he is defending. Because
of the goalkeeper's special role they are allowed to use their hands inside the penalty area
to more resourcefully protect the goal they are defending. (They can also play the ball like
a field player, but are more effective when using their hands). If the keeper gains
possession of the ball they must distribute the ball in a short period of time and are
limited to 4 steps (but rarely does anyone count). They pass the ball to their teammates by
rolling, throwing, kicking or punting the ball up the field.

The other 10 players on each team are referred to as field players and are divided into
different ranks - defenders, midfielders, and forwards (attackers). Defenders are those
who traditionally line up in front of their goalkeeper and tend to remain in their half of the
field for the majority of the game.

Generally they do not push into the other team's half of the field very often. The primary
responsibility of these players are to defend against the other team's attacks of their goal.

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Midfielders line up in front of the defenders and are expected to fulfill both offensive and
defensive responsibilities. Generally midfielders run the length of the field and provide
support for the offense and the defense as the situation demands.

In many cases it is within the ranks of the midfielders that a "field general" can generally
be found. The "field general" (often wearing the number 10) is often the center of the
team's possession of the ball and directs other players about position, movement, and
direction.

The forwards (attackers) line up at the front of the team and have the primary
responsibility of attempting to put the ball into the other team's goal. These players will
spend the majority of the game in the opposing team's half of the field. Generally
midfielders and defenders will provide forwards with the ball for attempts to attack the
other team's goal.

The number of players through the ranks of defenders, midfielders and forwards will vary
from team to team. One of the most common formations is the 4-4-2; 4 defenders, 4
midfielders, and 2 forwards (the goalkeeper is a given in formations).

One other important thing to mention is that at times defenders will take up offensive
positions and forwards will come back to help out on defense. This is acceptable, and
often expected. Teams function more effectively on both offense and defense if players
cover and support one another in a cohesive and interrelated fashion.

A final point on players is that a certain number of players can be substituted or

exchanged during the course of the match. At the higher levels, including professional,
the substituted player cannot return to the match later.

THE FIELD & IN-PLAY V. OUT-OF-PLAY

The field is made up of 2 identical halves, with a total length of 100-120 yards and a
width of approximately 70-75 yards. The game is started at the center of the field with a
kick-off by the team who wins the coin toss. The second half is started by the other team
in the same manner. The game is also restarted after goals in this manner, with the team
who gets scored upon getting the kick-off.

The ball is out of play at any time when it is completely beyond the outer borders of the
field (the end lines and the sidelines), regardless of whether the ball is on the ground or in
the air. Depending on where the ball goes out of play there are different methods for
putting the ball back into play.

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The line on which the goal sits is referred to as the end line. When the ball goes over the
end line, but not in the goal, there are two possible outcomes. If the offensive team puts
the ball over the end line the other team puts the ball back into play through a goal kick.
For a goal kick the ball is placed inside the edge of the goal box (the first small box at the
end of the field) and is kicked outside of the penalty area (the larger box that subsumes
the smaller goal box). If the defense puts the ball over the end line the offensive team puts
the ball back into play through a corner kick. The corner kick occurs within the small
semicircle at the corner of the field closest to where the ball went out of play.

The left and right borders of the field are referred to as sidelines or touchlines. When a
ball goes over the sideline the team who touched the ball last loses possession to the
opposing team. They put the ball back into play by engaging in a throw-in. A throw-in is
done by a player who holds the ball in both hands, brings it behind their head and releases
it around the crown of their head into the field, attempting to play the ball to a teammate.

FOULS

When it comes to discerning legal from illegal behavior on the field there is a great deal
of controversy always generated, with the referee inevitably becoming the center of
discontent. Generally matches will provide one center referee who has primary control of
the match and is the only one with a whistle. There are normally 2 assistant referees who
run the sidelines and assist with flags rather than whistles. Their job is to back-up the
center official, call fouls to the center official's attention, and make determinations of
when the ball is in- and out-of-play.

Once a foul has been called play is restarted by the victimized team through the use of a
direct or in-direct free kick. The type of foul will determine which type of free-kick is
awarded to the fouled team. The person who takes the free kick can only touch the ball
once, and someone else must touch the ball before they can touch it again.

Contact is a normal part of a game, and only under certain conditions will such behavior
be determined a foul. Foul contact includes pushing, elbowing, tripping, kicking, and
holding. In order to avoid fouling a player in these ways the opposing player must make
an attempt to play the ball - playing the wo/man rather than the ball is considered foul
contact.

These contact fouls, and illegal use of the hands (arms), result in a direct free kick. A
direct free kick is where the team who has been fouled gets to have an unmolested touch
of the ball, and if close enough can score a goal directly from the free kick.

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There are a number of minor fouls, such as; high kicks, dangerous play, and offsides
which result in in-direct free kicks. In-direct free kicks are similar to direct free kicks,
except that a person cannot score directly off of an in-direct free kick.

If the referee or their assistants feel that the foul conduct was especially rough or
malicious they have the ability to sanction the offender beyond the calling of the foul. The
center referee can issue the offending player a yellow or red card.

A yellow card, sometimes referred to as a warning, can be issued for any of the above
direct free kick fouls. This card serves to tell the player that the behavior will not be
tolerated and that further behavior of the same sort will see them removed from the game.

On the other hand, a red card is an automatic ejection for the player who receives it. A red
card is issued to a player who continually engages in foul behavior or has acted extremely
maliciously in a specific circumstance. An important aspect of the red card is that the
player cannot be replaced, so the removal means that the team plays a person short (or
more if multiple red cards are handed out).

One final note, any ball that requires a second touch, does not have to be touched by a
teammate, it can be touched by a member of the opposing team.

BASIC GLOSSARY & PHRASEOLOGY

BICYCLE KICK - an unusual and dangerous type of kick that is done by the person
throwing their legs up to kick the ball in an inverted style. When done, it looks sort of like
riding a bicycle on your back

CORNER KICK - a direct-free kick from the corner arc for an offensive team when the
defensive team puts the ball over their end line

CROSS - a pass on the ground or in the air from one side of the field to the other in an
attempt to find a teammate in open space (sometimes referred to as a switch or switching
fields)

DEFENDER - a player whose main responsibility is to thwart the offensive attacks of the
other team. They try to keep the ball out of their own goal

DIRECT FREE KICK - a free kick provided to a team for pushing, holding, tripping,
handball, etc. where a goal can be scored directly from the restart

DRIBBLE - when an individual player uses his/her feet to bring the ball up the field
without passing it to a teammate

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END LINE (aka GOAL LINE) - the line at each end of the field. If the ball completely
crosses this line it results in either a goal kick or a corner kick

FORWARD (aka ATTACKER, STRIKER) - person(s) who play the most offensive roles
on the team and have primary responsibility for scoring goals

HEADER (aka HEADBALL) - hen a player uses their head to pass, shoot, or clear the
ball

GOAL BOX - the first small box at the end of the field. It is within this box that goal
kicks are taken

GOAL KICK - a free kick for the defensive team when the offensive team puts the ball
over the end line

GOALKEEPER - the one player on each team dressed in a different uniform who has the
ability to use their hands when the ball is in the penalty box

IN-DIRECT FREE KICK - a free kick that requires at least one additional touch before a
goal can be scored

KICK-OFF - the specific activity of putting the ball into play after a goal, at the beginning
of the game, and to start the second half

MEG (aka SALAT) - to nut"meg" someone is to push the ball between their legs during a
pass or dribble. It is unusual to see because it is a difficult move to pull off

MIDFIELDER - a player who plays offensively and defensively over the length of the
field and links the defensive players with offensive ones

OFFSIDE - this is often a call that results in controversy and is little understood by
spectators (probably by players and referees as well). Don't worry about this one now

OWN-GOAL (aka AUTOGOAL) - this occurs when a defensive player accidently puts
the ball into their own goal and scores for the other team

PASS - a ball that is kicked, headed, or otherwise played from one teammate to another in
an attempt to advance the ball

PENALTY AREA - the larger of the two boxes which defines where a goalkeeper can
use their hands

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PENALTY SPOT - this spot is used when the defensive team commits a direct free kick
foul inside the penalty area. It provides a one on one situation where an offensive player
gets to take a shot at the goal from 12 yards out with only the goalkeeper to beat

PITCH - sometimes the field of play (soccer field) may be referred to as the pitch

PUNT - after the goalkeeper picks up the ball they often kick it down the field in an
attempt to quickly get the ball to their forwards and midfielders

REFEREE - ultimate judge of legal and illegal action on the soccer field, often referred to
in unflattering terms like the bind man or the incompetent

SAVE - when the goalkeeper (or possibly a defender) keeps the ball from going into their
own goal

SHOT - when an offensive player attempts to score a goal

SIDE LINE (aka TOUCH LINE) - the lines running the length of the field. When the ball
completely crosses this line it results in a throw-in for the opposing team

TACKLE - an attempt to gain possession of the ball from an opposing player. This is
done primarily with the feet and can sometimes be done through sliding

THROW-IN - the action taken by the team who gains possession after the ball crosses the
side line

VOLLEY - a shot that is attempted while the ball is in the air rather than on the ground

UNLUCKY - a phrase used to refer to a play that doesn't work out or a shot that misses or
is saved

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 VITAE
Rich A. Wallace

Rich A. Wallace, a native of the Quad Cities in Illinois, attended Millikin University
from 1987 - 1991, where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in
sociology and a minor in psychology.
In the fall of that same year he enrolled as a Master of Science candidate in the
Department of Sociology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The
requirements for this degree were completed in November of 1993, with the submission
of a thesis entitled Regional Differences in the Treatment of Karl Marx by the Founders
of American Academic Sociology. Once the master’s degree was completed he began
work on the present degree, Doctor of Philosophy in sociology. During his tenure at
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Rich worked as a graduate teaching
assistant, initially in support of Dr. William E. Snizek, and later teaching Criminology,
Deviant Behavior, Social Problems, and Sociology of the Family courses on an
independent basis.
In August of 1997 Rich became assistant professor of criminal justice in the
Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls, having sole
responsibility for the criminal justice program. In addition to teaching courses in the
criminal justice curriculum, he also teaches core sociology courses. In addition to
academic responsibilities, Rich is also a member of the Institutional Review Board for
Human Subjects.
Professionally Rich is involved in the American Society of Criminology and the
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He has presented several papers on the topics of
the criminological nature of football hooliganism and the future value of correctional
clients from ethical and biological standpoints. Currently Rich is doing further research
on the causes of English football hooliganism.

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