Why Youth May Join A Gang - 2637 Words

Why Youth May Join a Gang According to Barkan and Snowden (2008), the conditions that lead or induce a person to join a gang are: changes in the political system of a country; the rigidity or flexibility of the society (rigidity makes life stressful for people); a need to protect loved ones; and/or difficult life conditions, such as job loss, that result in high levels of frustration and threat. Street gangs join together for various reasons, such as to protect themselves from feared neighborhood members, in response to a competing gang in their area, lack of institutional resources and the decaying urban environment, and/or neglectful parents. A number of risk factors are associated with gang membership, gang activity, and gang involvement, but there is no single factor or set of factors than can be used to successfully predict which youth will, or will not, become gang members. Hill et al. (2004) use The Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP)—a longitudinal study that tracked 808 persons since 1985, when the participants were 5th grade students at 18 Seattle, Washington public schools that serve high-crime neighborhoods—to outline childhood risk factors that predict joining a remaining in a gang. The risk factors associated with gang membership were found in the neighborhood—availability of drugs, youth in trouble, low neighborhood attachment; family—family structure, bond with parents, low household income, etc.; school—leaning disabled, low academic achievement,Show MoreRelatedCharacteristics Of A Criminal Street Gang1212 Words   |  5 Pagescriminal street gang. Not only does MLO fit the definition of what a reasonable person would believe a street gang to be, but most importantly it fits the definition of a criminal street gang as it is defined in the California STEP act. According Ludeke’s article, MLO has been responsible for nearly killing a young man, beating another, and threatening witnesses with death if they went to the police. While he recognizes that MLO is not as big a threat or as notorious as other well-known gangs, it doesRead MoreThe Is A Gang And His Article Develops A Convincing Argument1640 Words   |  7 Pages Ludeke believes MLO is a gang and his article develops a convincing argument. According to the STEP Act, a gang is: Any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons . . . having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of the criminal acts enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (25), inclusive, or (31) to (33), inclusive, of subdivision (e), having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage inRead MoreA Formal Description For A Youth Gang1503 Words   |  7 Pagesyoung individuals may enter into groups that society often refers to as gangs. It is accurate to say that gangs contribute immensely to crime and delinquency however, to say that this is the purpose of all gangs would be misleading. Gangs should instead be seen as existing on a continuum, some ranging from groups of peers who spend time together and may get into trouble, to others who participate in more serious crimes (Gorden, 2000, p. 4). In terms of a specific definition for a gang, there really isRead MoreEssay On Juvenile Gangs973 W ords   |  4 Pages The History Of Juvenile Gangs Jerry L. Page East Carolina University Introduction The History Of Juvenile Gangs Gang Types Over the course of history, there have been many gangs that have come to light. There are three different types of gangs that have been around for many years. These gangs are politicized gangs, neo-Nazism gangs, and street gangs. Politicized gangs promote political change by making other citizens scared of them. Street gangs are commonly known to cause violenceRead MoreYouth Gang Membership : A Serious Problem Affecting Many Youths Essay1272 Words   |  6 PagesYouth Gang membership is a serious problem affecting many youths in America. Per the National Youth Gang Survey by the U.S. Justice Department puts the number of youths in gangs at only about 302,000. But a 2015 study by G. Gately found that there are more than 1 million youth gang members. Many youth gang members join around 12 and 13 years old, peaking at 14 years of age (Tara Young, 2014). This review will detail the main reasons youths enter gangs, outreach programs that are making a differenceRead MoreYouth Ga ng Membership And It s Implication Adolescent Development Essay1566 Words   |  7 Pagesover 700,000 adolescents who are involved in youth gangs. (Thomas). America has a youth gang culture that is present in its society. This paper will focus on youth gang membership and it’s implication to adolescent development. First to be discussed will be the demographics of adolescents involved in gangs. Then the reasons why youth join gangs and how it is related to their natural development. Next, we will turn to contemplate the implication of gang culture and involvement in America’s publicRead MoreWhat Drives Adolescents to Join a Gang?683 Words   |  3 PagesJoining a Gang and Their Mind Mentality Parents want the best for their children. They try their best to keep them happy. However they tend to lose their children to the streets and the gangs. Why adolescences join these gangs should not be the question. There are many reasons why they join. Some reasons could be the absence of a parent, whether it is the mother or father. Lack of discipline or their parent’s could be a drug abuser. What motivates an adolescence to desire and acquire gang membershipRead Morere various reasons behind young people joining street gangs. One of the reasons young people800 Words   |  4 Pagesre various reasons behind young people joining street gangs. One of the reasons young people join street gangs is because of neighborhood disadvantages. A theory that can contribute to why young people might join street gangs is Social Disorganization Theory. Social Disorganization theory assumes that â€Å"delinquency emerges in neighborhoods where neighborhood relation and social institutions have broken down and can no longer maintain effective social controls (Bell, 2007).† Social DisorganizationRead MoreCauses Of Gangs1461 Words   |  6 PagesWhen the word â€Å"gangs† comes to mind, one can immediately picture a big, tall male figure often covered with tattoos, piercings, and maybe even a bald-headed guy. One might think that gangs only occur in areas like Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and areas illustrated in movies. Gangs are also becoming more glorified in the media. For example, while listening to a rap song on the radio, some sort of gang reference will come up. Gangs can often target the young and the vulnerable due to m any reasons, such asRead MoreThe Strengths Of Labelling Theory And Differential Association Theory1703 Words   |  7 Pagescan explain how the factor of family as reasons why some youth join gangs. This paper compares the relative strengths and weaknesses of Differential Association theory and Labelling theory and I argue that Labelling Theory offers the most compelling theoretical perspective to help account for how these factors influence youth to join gangs. I also argue that unlike the other two theories, a Marxist approach deals with the issue of why youth join gangs by investigating the broad effects of inequality