SOCIAL CONTROL AND DEVIANT BEHAVIOR IN MARRIAGES: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PROBLEM

Abstract

The article carries out a comprehensive theoretical and applied analysis of social control as a fundamental mechanism for ensuring social law and order and minimizing destructive manifestations of deviance. The relevance of the study is due to the need to rethink traditional means of behaviour regulation in the context of the dynamic transformation of social norms. The author examines in detail the multi-level architecture of social control, which integrates regulatory, psychological, educational, socio-economic, and media-communicative toolsets. The paper analyses classical and modern theories of the genesis of deviations, in particular the concepts of anomie by E. Durkheim and structural strain by R. Merton, which allowed for identifying the correlation between the crisis states of society and the level of behavioural deviations.
Particular attention is paid to the functional purpose of the institutions of primary and secondary socialization – the family and educational institutions in the context of forming internal barriers to deviance and individual self-regulation skills. The thesis substantiates that the effectiveness of antisocial behaviour prevention depends on the harmonious combination of formal control (the legal sanctions system and law enforcement agencies' activities) with the informal influence of public opinion. The role of mass communication media as a "soft power" tool that constructs social standards and popularizes legitimate models of success is revealed. The conclusions emphasize that only an integrated state strategy that combines legal restriction with profound social support and psychological correction can ensure a high level of social consolidation and stability. The scientific novelty of the study lies in clarifying the functional relationships between different levels of control in the face of modern information challenges.