Gang Culture and School Violence - Essay Example

Gang Culture of the of the Gang Culture Literature Review Gang culture is a significant problem throughout the world, and it contributes to violence and crime. A gang can be defined as a group consists of youngsters, and is identifiable as a distinct grouping within their neighborhood. They identify themselves as a group, normally though the use of a group name and participant in wrong actions, often breaking the law, that draw attention to the gang. However, this is only one definition of a gang, and definitions vary from one author to the next. Gangs are a considerable problem, because membership within a gang has been shown to amplify delinquent behavior. Furthermore, there are many factors which can lead to integration within a gang, making it difficult to predict or prevent (Winfree Jr., Fuller, Vigil & Mays, 1992). For many people, time within a gang constitutes an important part of their life, however, a large number also successfully leave a gang (Pyrooz & Decker, 2011). It is important to understand the culture of gangs to help find ways of preventing youths from entering gangs, or helping them to successfully exit. One important study that has focused on delinquency in adolescents is the Rochester Youth Development Study. This research is critically important, because it considers the behavior of youth, as well as the causes and consequences of this behavior over a long period of time. The research first started in 1986, and followed a sample of 1,000 adolescent juveniles from the 7th and 8th grades in public schools within Rochester New York, through to their early adulthood. In this study, gang membership was present in a third of the sample group, yet it was responsible for 86% of serious acts of delinquency as well as 70% of sales of drugs that occurred within the group. Those who were gang members committed violent offensives more often when they were actively part of the gang than either before joining or after leaving. The authors examined violent behavior taking into account all other potentially confounding factors, including prior violence, and poverty, and still found a significant association between being active in a gang and violence. The authors argued that this result suggested that the norms of behavior within the gang, as well as group dynamics, strongly contributed to the prevalence of violence and delinquency (Thornberry, Krohn, Lizotte & Smith, 1998). This article focused on examining the behavior of adolescents across time without any selection for gang activity. Because of this, the sample size and the duration of the study, it represents important information about the influence of gangs on behavior. One limitation is that it only considers adolescents from a particular area in New York. It could be argued that gang activity and the influence of gangs may be different in other cities or parts of the world than in Rochester. Nevertheless, the paper provides important information about the link between violent behavior, delinquency and gang behavior. An important extension of this work could be to consider a similar group in other cities in the United States, or in other parts of the world. This would help to show whether the influences of gangs are the same worldwide. In a research article, Scott Decker (1996) examined specific activities undertaken by gang members which involved the use of violence. The purpose of this paper was to consider the processes that are involved in the continued spread of violence within and between gangs, and the escalation of this violence. The author considers the role that threat plays within violence, defining this as the potential for either perceived or actual harm against the gang or its members, usually through a rival gang’s presence. In this study, data was collected from a three-year study from 1990 to 1993 in St. Louis. Information was gathered through the use of interviews conducted in neutral territory. In total, 99 gang members were interviewed as part of this study, with individuals from 29 gangs. One of the key findings of this study was that gang violence was often a reaction to actions by another gang, and frequently involved the use of weapons and assaults. Throughout the interviews in this study, it was observed that violence was a central component of gang life. The participants in the study had substantial records, with arrests per individual averaging eight (Decker, 1996). The critical aspect of this study was that it considered gang violence from the perspective of gang members, and reaffirmed the concept that violence is a central component of gang life. Another important aspect of gang culture is the interaction that occurs between alcohol and violence. Although many studies focus on the role that drugs play in gangs, alcohol is also a considerable aspect of gang violence and tends to be understudied. One review considered that drinking played a symbolic role within the gang, acting as a mechanism of maintaining solidarity and cohesion within the gang structure, as well as being strongly related to the concept of masculinity, also important in a gang environment (Hunt & Laidler, 2001).Stretesky and Pogrebin (2007) examined the relationships between gun violence within gangs, and the concepts of self, identity and socialization. The authors argued that most studies do not examine the transmission of norms of violence within street gangs. In the paper, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with 22 individuals convicted of gun violence, which was related to gang activity. The authors found that being in a gang helped to form the identity of gang-members and promoted a strong sense of self. It was also determined that guns play a greater role than protection, and that they offer gang members the ability to protect their reputation and to appear ‘tough’ or threatening (Stretesky & Pogrebin, 2007). One of the issues in studying gang culture and the impact that this has on violence and other aspects, is that gang culture is continually changing as society itself changes. For example, gangs no longer only include adolescents, and many adults participate in gangs also. Furthermore, the availability of firearms has led to many gangs being well-armed, and have their own informal economy, which is expanding. While gangs were once perceived to be predominately the region of minority groups, they continue to expand and are no longer limited to specific ethnic groups (Hagedorn, 1998). It is likely that changes in gang structure and culture will continue, making studies of gang culture difficult. It is often argued that there are inherent differences in youth who are involved in gangs and those who are not. One study examined this assumption by using information gathered from the Denver Youth Survey, to determine the differences between gang and non-gang members and what characteristics are present within the two groups. The information used in this study was gathered from neighborhoods in Denver, Colorado, that were considered to be high risk. Within this area, interviews were undertaken with 1527 youth aged from 7 to 15 years, as well as with one of the youth’s parents. For the study, a subset of interviews, of youth who were between 12 and 18 in the fourth year of the study, were used. The authors found that there were few differences between the two groups, and where differences did exist; gang members did not have significantly different outcomes than other youth who were involved in serious offending at the street level (Esbensen, Huizinga & Weiher, 1993). This is important from the perspective of preventing youth from joining gangs, as it indicates that the approaches that are currently being used may assume differences that are not actually present. The prevention of gang involvement is a critical factor in controlling the influence of gang culture on youth; however, it is a difficult challenge. On the basis of a conceptual analysis of gang culture and their effects, one study argued that school factors have a significant influence on gang involvement (Sharkey, Shekhtmeyster, Chavez-Lopez, Norris & Sass, 2011). One significant aspect that most studies on the prevention of youth joining gangs do not take into account is that gangs provide a protective for youth. For at-risk youth, prevention of gang activity will only occur by addressing the needs of protection for these youngsters in other ways (Sharkey et al., 2011). Another study found that the poor treatment of youth may potentially result in youth joining gangs, and that this is an area which has been understudied. In this study, the authors gathered information from a range of students in a school district in 1994. There were around 2,300 students in the final sample for the study, and students were asked to complete a questionnaire which included a measure of gang involvement as well as information about the youth’s family. The authors found that youth who had been poorly treated were more than two times as likely to be involved in gang fighting. This study suggests that family factors play a significant role in the decision of youth to join gangs. However, one limitation was that the authors used a broader definition of gangs than many studies, which limits how well their results can be compared to other research (Thompson & Braaten-Antrim, 1998). The studies in this literature review show that there are strong social norms within a gang environment, and that these act to support gang members and to provide them with a social environment. Violence was revealed to be a significant aspect of gang life, as was drugs and alcohol. It also showed that there is limited information about the factors that influence youth to join gangs, or encourage them to leave, and that this information is critical to finding ways of preventing youth from entering gangs. The literature showed that mistreatment within the family may have a significant role in gang activity, however, studies on this aspect has been limited. Methodology Objectives and Hypotheses One gap in literature identified through the literature review was the factors that influence youth to enter the gang environment initially. A greater understanding of this would help to increase the effectiveness of preventative measures, and provide alternative approaches to at-risk youth. The purpose of this study is to determine key factors that increase the likelihood of youth becoming part of a gang. The focus on this study will be sociodemographic variables and home environment. Although these are only a selection of factors that may be influential, these factors are chosen for two reasons. Firstly, they are broad enough to consider a wide range of different drivers, and secondly, they are narrow enough to be able to be effectively measured. For this study, the research question is: “What is the influence of sociodemographic factors and home environment on the likelihood of a young person entering a gang-like environment”. The primary hypothesis for this study is that these factors will have no impact on the likelihood of an individual entering a gang. To examine this correctly, this hypothesis needs to be broken down into three sub-hypotheses, which must be considered individually. These are as follows: 1. No relationship will be observed between sociodemographic factors of youths and likelihood of entering a gang 2. No relationship will be observed between the home environment of youths and likelihood of entering a gang Sample and Measures The sample group for this study will consist of students within a school district aged between 14 and 18 years of age at the time of the study. Several schools within the district will be chosen randomly, and all students who are of the required age will be included in the study. The research will be undertaken by providing students with a survey, which will consist of four aspects, examining the measures that will be described in more detail below. Students and their parents will be asked to sign a consent form prior to inclusion in the study. The research will be blinded, so that participants will not be informed prior to the study that it is focused on determining factors influencing gang activity. This blinding is an important aspect, because if participants were aware of the intent of the study, this could potentially bias the results. Gang affiliation. This is the first measure of the study and acts as a proxy for likelihood of entering a gang. Youth scoring at the low end of the scale are likely to be currently involved in a gang or soon will be, while those high on the scale are unlikely to. The position on this scale will be determined through the use of Likert scaled questions, with a scale ranging from one to five and participants asked to express whether they 1) strongly agree, 2) agree, 3) neither agree nor disagree, 4) disagree, or 5) strongly disagree with the statement given. These responses will be average to give an indication of gang affiliation. Where necessary, scores will be reversed prior to averaging (i.e. 5=1, 4=2, such as for statement 2, below). The statements used for this section will include: 1. A gang is a group of people that support one another no matter what 2. Gangs should be avoided at all costs 3. There is nothing wrong with participating in fights between groups of friends Sociodemographic factors will be measured through the use of questions that ask things such as the income level of the student’s family, whether they are always able to afford food, their nationality, and the jobs that their parents have. Home environment will be considered through the use of questions, examining factors such as the number of children in the family home, the family structure, whether the youth suffers any abuse, and whether there is any violence at home. Results In this study, the gang affiliation will be a numerical variable and the dependent variable. Regression analyses will be used to determine whether there is a significant relationship between the gang affiliation and aspects considered in sociodemographic factors and home environment. This will involve a number of individual comparisons, looking at each of the specific factors from the survey. In addition, an overall variable will be created for both sociodemographic factors and home environment based on the youth’s responses. For example, in the case of home environment, this might include categories of: healthy home environment, minimal conflict, significantly detrimental and high violence. These variables will also be compared to the gang affiliation. The hypothesis for this study is that home environment and sociodemographic factors will have no influence on the gang affiliation of the youth. Discussion This research considers a relatively understudied area of the factors that influence youth to be involved in gangs. Although many studies examine the culture that is present within gangs, little is known about the factors that influence the entry of youths into this environment in the first place. This study aims to address this issue by focusing on two key aspects that are likely to influence whether a youth becomes in this type of environment. The study has several limitations. Firstly, it uses a proxy for entering a gang, rather than an actual measure of likelihood. Because of this, the outcome of the study will be a correlation, rather than a definitive result. Secondly, entry into gangs is a multi-dimensional concept, and this study only considers two factors in detail. It is likely that there will be other factors interacting with these, and influencing the entry of youth into gangs, and these are not considered in this study. Because of this, this may be a simplistic view of the problem. References Decker, S. H. (1996). Collective and normative features of gang violence. Justice Quarterly, 13(2), 243-264. Hagedorn, J. M. (1998). Gang violence in the postindustrial era. Crime and Justice, 24, 365-419. Esbensen, F-A., Huizinga, D. & Weiher, A. W. (1993). Gang and non-gang youth: Differences in explanatory factors. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 9, 94-116. Hunt, G. P. & Laidler, K. J. (2001). Alcohol and violence in the lives of gang members. Alcohol Research and Health, 25(1), 66-71. Pyrooz, D. C. & Decker, S. H. (2011). Motives and methods for leaving the gang: Understanding the process of gang desistance. Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(5), 417-425. Thornberry, T.P., Khron, M.D., Lizotte, A.J. & Smith, C. A. (1998). Taking stock: An overview of findings from the Rochester Youth Development Study. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/176553NCJRS.pdf Sharkey, J. D., Shekhtmeyster, Z., Chavez-Lopez, L., Norris, E. & Sass, L. (2011). The protective influence of gangs: Can schools compensate? Aggression and Violent Behavior, 16(1), 45-54. Stretesky, P. B. & Pogrebin, M. R. (2007). Gang-related gun violence, socialization, identity and self. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 36(1), 85-114. Thompson, K. M. & Braaten-Antrim, R. Youth maltreatment and gang involvement. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 13, 328-345. Winfree Jr., L. T., Fuller, K., Vigil, T. & Mays, G. L. (2011). The definition and measurement of ‘gang status’: Policy implications for juvenile justice. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 43(1), 29-37. Read More