"The Saints and the Roughnecks" by William Chambliss describes two groups of boys in a small town. Both groups of boys engaged in a considerable amount of deviance, but it was the Roughnecks, even though their deviance was less dangerous to the community, who were constantly in trouble with the police. As a result, all but one of the Saints went on to college and to professional careers, while only two of the Roughnecks went on to college. Given this information, which of the following statements is true?
A) Labels are not 100 percent deterministic.
B) The Saints engaged in tertiary deviance.
C) The Roughnecks were never guilty of any act of primary deviance.
D) The behavior of these two groups is best explained by psychology.
E) Self-fulfilling prophecies have an almost total power over our futures.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fact that some of the Saints eventually engaged in deviant behavior, despite their label as "good kids," shows that labels are not always determinative of behavior.

"The Saints and the Roughnecks" by William Chambliss Describes Two