DURKHEIM AND ANOMIE OR STRAIN THEORY by Brent M. Pergram, Masers of Arts in Sociology Emile Durkheim is the founder of the study of anomie theory or strain theory that believes that anomie or strain causes a person to commit suicide or some other deviant act. This research paper will discuss several articles that deal with strain theory and with Durkheim’s theory of anomie. I will also discuss articles on Merton’s strain theory, and on Agnew’s General Strain Theory that expands the concept of strain. Durkheim is the founder of anomie theory, but Merton, and later Agnew made changes to the theory to try to make it a g