Anomie

Summary

Anomie describes the individual’s subjective response to a community and social environment that is perceived to be threatening and unregulated. Anomie is expressed in an individual tendency towards loss of motivation and feelings of despair and helplessness (Srole, 1956). The four-item scale has been used in the SOEP at irregular intervals in the 90s and at regular five-year intervals since 2008.

Theoretical Background

Anomie refers to a condition of normlessness, that is, a lack of social norms. Durkheim (1897, 1951) introduced the concept of anomie in sociology to describe the erosion of social norms and societal rules under conditions of far-reaching structural change—for example, the conditions that arise in times of rapid social and economic transformation. The result is a breakdown of bonds between the individual and the community or society. Merton (1938) applied and expanded the concept of anomie in his theory of deviant behavior. He extended Durkheim’s understanding by observing the factors that lead to anomie. In Merton’s view, anomie may occur when (1) cultural goals and desires are prescribed as normative for a society as a whole; (2) the legitimate means used to achieve these goals are strictly regulated; and (3) these legitimate means are unequally distributed in the society. Anomie is then the result of a state in which the individual adheres to the society’s main cultural ideas and principles but does not possess the legitimate means to attain them. The result may be various forms of deviant behavior such as criminal acts. Durkheim (1897, 1951) treated anomie primarily as a social condition, whereas Merton (1938) shifted the focus to the individual. Srole (1956) followed on Merton’s (1938) understanding, contributing the social psychological construct of anomia to the constellation of themes surrounding anomie. Anomia relates to the individual, psychological side of a social condition that is perceived to be anomic. In this regard, the concept of anomia shows certain similarities with external locus of control.

Scale Development

The anomie scale taken from the German Welfare Survey (Duttenhöfer & Schröder, 1996) was shortened for the SOEP survey and one positive item was added.

References

Durkheim, E. (1951). Suicide, a study in sociology. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press.

Duttenhöfer, S. & Schröder, H. (1996). Die Wohlfahrtssurveys 1978-1993 - Variablenübersicht. Zuma-Technischer Bericht 94/11. Mannheim.

Merton, R. K. (1938). Social structure and anomie. American Sociological Review, 3, 672-682.

Srole, L. (1956). Social integration and certain corollaries: An exploratory study. American Sociological Review, 21, 709-716.

Items

To what extent do the following statements apply to you (Wie sehr stimmen die folgenden Aussagen für Sie persönlich):

1. When I think about the future, I’m actually quite optimistic. (Wenn ich an die Zukunft denke, bin ich eigentlich sehr zuversichtlich.)

2. I often feel lonely. (Ich fühle mich oft einsam.)

3. I don’t really enjoy my work. (Meine Arbeit macht mir eigentlich keine Freude.)

4. Things have gotten so complicated that I almost can’t manage anymore. (Die Verhältnisse sind so kompliziert geworden, dass ich mich fast nicht mehr zurecht finde.)

Scale: 1 (Completely / Stimmt ganz und gar) to 4 (Not at all / Stimmt ganz und gar nicht)

Test-Retest Correlations

In 2005, this scale was included in a retest taken by a subsample (N = 126 completed the scale) within 30 to 49 days after the initial test. Test-retest correlations for the items were (in scale order) .39, .52, .30, and .52; scale scores correlated .60.

Items and Scale Statistics

year	variable	count	mean	sd	itemrestcorr	alpha
1990	plh0188R	4432	2.73	0.84	0.20	0.46
1990	plh0189	4413	3.36	0.97	0.28	0.46
1990	plh0190	3430	3.31	0.88	0.23	0.46
1990	plh0191	4421	2.99	0.94	0.35	0.46
1991	plh0188R	4179	2.62	0.86	0.27	0.48
1991	plh0189	4161	3.33	0.94	0.26	0.48
1991	plh0190	3765	3.30	0.89	0.23	0.48
1991	plh0191	4157	2.89	0.92	0.34	0.48
1992	plh0188R	11000	2.68	0.80	0.27	0.55
1992	plh0189	10991	3.28	0.93	0.36	0.55
1992	plh0190	10498	3.31	0.85	0.31	0.55
1992	plh0191	10989	3.23	0.89	0.41	0.55
1993	plh0188R	13106	2.55	0.82	0.21	0.56
1993	plh0189	13098	3.25	0.94	0.37	0.56
1993	plh0190	12198	3.20	0.87	0.35	0.56
1993	plh0191	13061	3.10	0.93	0.44	0.56
1995	plh0188R	13698	2.77	0.75	0.29	0.59
1995	plh0189	13685	3.22	0.92	0.38	0.59
1995	plh0190	12791	3.26	0.83	0.37	0.59
1995	plh0191	13653	3.21	0.87	0.45	0.59
1996	plh0188R	13464	2.71	0.77	0.30	0.59
1996	plh0189	13468	3.23	0.90	0.38	0.59
1996	plh0190	12594	3.24	0.82	0.37	0.59
1996	plh0191	13429	3.20	0.84	0.45	0.59
1997	plh0188R	13227	2.50	0.79	0.25	0.57
1997	plh0189	13205	3.27	0.90	0.37	0.57
1997	plh0190	12101	3.23	0.82	0.37	0.57
1997	plh0191	13190	3.18	0.86	0.44	0.57
2008	plh0188R	19614	2.62	0.77	0.31	0.60
2008	plh0189	19608	3.16	0.88	0.40	0.60
2008	plh0190	17957	3.25	0.81	0.36	0.60
2008	plh0191	19549	3.22	0.84	0.46	0.60
2013	plh0188R	19068	2.87	0.71	0.34	0.62
2013	plh0189	19076	3.24	0.83	0.41	0.62
2013	plh0190	17163	3.29	0.83	0.39	0.62
2013	plh0191	19009	3.35	0.83	0.46	0.62
2018	plh0188R	25769	2.82	0.76	0.28	0.59
2018	plh0189	25814	3.21	0.86	0.38	0.59
2018	plh0190	22900	3.24	0.85	0.37	0.59
2018	plh0191	25709	3.30	0.83	0.44	0.59