Deviance Deviance refers to the recognized violation of cultural norms. One familiar type of deviance is crime, or the violation of norms a society formally enacts into criminal law.
Juvenile delinquency is the violation of legal standards by the young.
4 Characteristics and Examples of Deviance Deviance is universal, but there are no universal forms of deviance. Deviance is not biological. No act is inherently deviant. Social groups make rules and enforce them. Rules are socially constructed, and social groups utilize social control mechanisms to ensure they are adhered to.