Socioeconomic Factors that Lure Individuals into Gangs

Initially gang activity could only be found in large metropolitan cities, but now gangs have invaded neighborhoods of all sizes across the country. Gangs introduce violence and fear to the communities they occupy, raise the level of drug activities, and destroy businesses and property which brings down the overall value of the whole area. Instead of going to school, many young people find themselves drawn in to the gang life which in most cases either leads to being locked up or death. There are various reasons why people would want to join a gang, but no matter what that reason might be one can only expect a life of violence and troubles.

Gangs have been a growing issue across the United States for many decades now. Youth gang violence may have started around the ‘50s, but did not become a serious issue until the ‘80s and from there went through a downward spiral in some cities like downtown Los Angeles, which was where the notorious Bloods and Crips gangs both started. First, let’s simply define a gang as a group of people, mostly men ranging for ages 14-30, who claim territory and use it to make money for themselves and their neighborhood through illegal activities such as trafficking drugs and weapons. There are many reasons and components that are factored in when conducting research to hypothesize “why do people join gangs?” That is why it is necessary to compare and contrast all the social, biological, psychological, developmental, and substance abuse aspects and relate it to joining a gang. It is also important to touch base on the differences between males and females that join gangs, such as power differentials, social learning differences and social stratification differences.

When individuals decided to get involve in those type of activities many of them do it for specific reasons. For example, people join gang for acceptance, protection, and some are forced into it, because of their family are gang affiliated. Gangs partake endlessly in finding different method for individuals to more effectively get the things they want, particularly power. Therefore, people that are easily influenced tends to gravitate toward gang activities for recognition in the community. According to Goldman, Giles, & Hogg (2014), “Gang members’ actions impact other gang members as well as the wider community; everyone is at risk of being a victim of gang violence” (p. 825). Gang violence goes further than racial issue, but it more intensely touches African American and Latino communities.

Gang involvement and its associated violent crime have become a rapidly growing problem for the United States. Generally, gangs consist of young people of the same ethnic, racial, and economic background. Usually of a low socio-economic status, these gangs engage in illegal money making activities and intimidate their neighborhoods and rival gangs with violent crimes and victimization. Gang members exemplify a high value for group loyalty and sacrifice.

Gangs originated naturally during the adolescent years of a child. They started from small play groups that eventually found themselves in conflict with other small groups of youth. Due to the conflict between the two small groups of youth it became a part of a child’s mind set to come together as a gang and protect their rights and satisfy the needs that their environment and families couldn’t provide. There are about 24,500 gangs in the U.S and out of those gangs 40% of them are juveniles (Hess, Orthmann, Wright, 2013). There are numerous reason why a child would join a gang, and the

What influences youth to join and leave gangs in America? This essay strives to seek and inquire an answer or explanation to this question. I will try to approach the answer to this question by analyzing the biggest factors of it such as the influence of social institutions, psychological behaviour, media and many more to determine the push and pull factors of a gang. Understanding that the dynamics of gang membership can be separated into formation & joining which will allow theories & methods of gang-related research to be refined.

There are an abundance of reasons why some youth may choose to join a gang. The lacking of sense of guidance positively and

Furthermore, the book, Youth Gangs in American Society by Randall Shelden, Sharon Tracy, and William Brown (2013) discusses several theories about why people join gangs. One theory that I think especially fits the explanation as to why people join gangs, with regards to this book, is the control/social bond theory. Shelden et al define control/social bong theory as “when a youth’s, bonds or ties, to society are weak or broken, especially with family, school and other institutions, when this occurs, a youth is apt to seek bonds with other groups, including gangs, in order to get his or her needs met”(p 193). I think so many groups in society let this boy down in My Bloody Life, including his family, the school system and even the police. Consequently with his ties to society so weak, he reached out to a gang that gave him a sense of comfort and belonging.

When potential gang members become exposed to certain life situations they have a higher risk of joining a gang. When someone joins a gang they become susceptible to partaking in actions that they would not normally do. This paper will give some idea of what a gang is and describe some factors that can motivate a person to get involved with a gang. It will also explain the problem associated with an increase of gang member activity that result of a higher gang homicide. The data will show that the estimated number of gangs was at a high, then that number trended downward. Finally the number has risen to the present and has steadily plateaued at the high. In this report I will explain the relative correlation of the high in gang activity to

Within the novel, See provides the reader with an adequate set of reasons and theories that generally support the ideology of why many individuals join gangs. Some of the main points and arguments portrayed highlight the idea that many of these traditional theories correlate and suggest a lack of opportunity for the younger generation. It is much harder for young people to become successful in society due to major emphasis on laws, poverty, social class and status. It is common characteristics such as these ones that allow for certain individuals to fall behind in society causing then to be identified outside of the norm. As a result of these legitimate means, many individuals turn to gang involvement for a sense of unity, identity, and loyalty. The gang becomes an individuals new family where everything is done collectively and no one is left out, something that may have been missing from an individuals real family. Also, being a part of this gang now allows for individuals to have a sense of self worth; it allows them to believe that they now have a true identity that reaches out and describes who they are. They are no longer lost, but instead have found a mini social institution where trust and loyalty is valued the most.

It is important to note that the pushes and pulls of gang membership are not necessarily mutually exclusive, in that they may simultaneously impact a youth’s decision to join a gang. However, by and large, numerous studies have found that youth themselves are more likely to report being “pulled” into the gang. This is especially evident in widespread accounts of youth who report joining the gang based on the social desire to be around gang-involved friends and/or family. In comparison, youth less frequently report being coerced or actively recruited to join the gang. This finding is important to note, since the latter is commonly (though erroneously) believed to be the primary reason youth join gangs, with many states developing legislation

Gangs have direct effects on a society, such as increased levels of crime, violence and murder. Gangs also have long-term or late suggestions in that gang members are more likely to drop out of high school, struggle with unemployment, abuse drugs and alcohol or in end up in jail. These factors not only contribute to the gang members, but they also force taxpayers to pay for welfare and community-assistance programs. Common reasons for the younger generation to join gangs, include trying to find a place where they belong and sharing in mutual desires for safety from family problems or life challenges. Together, the feelings and attitudes among gang members haze them to act violently, often self-contradictory with rival gangs. This violence leads to injury and death of not only members but also of bystanders in the community. High gang activity also causes fear among community members, discourages business activity and obstructs home-value appreciation. Communities, also must pay for higher levels of law enforcement when gangs are prominent.

The term youth gangs refers to a group of three or more members, who are between the age of 12 and 24; they share an identity through the use of names or symbols; they see themselves as gang and are recognized by others as a gang; there is some amount of permanence and degree of organization; and the group is involved in an elevated amount of criminal activity (National Gang Center Staff, n.d.). Risk factors for gang involvement are based on factors such as individual, family, school, community. School risk factors include poor school performance, poor connectedness to schools, low degree of commitment to and involvement in school, and weak attachment to teachers (Howell, 2010). Community risk factors includes such things as greater level of criminal activity, neighborhood youth are involved in illegal behaviors, widespread access to and the use of firearms and drugs, and low level of neighborhood attachment (Howell, 2010). Additional factors that lead to gang involvement include learning disabilities and emotional disorders, school failure and truancy, no positive involvement outside of school, friends and peers are delinquent, low income, and early involvement in petty crimes and behavioral disorders in grade school (Hernandez, 2015). Reasons given for joining a gang as reported by youths includes for protection, for fun, for respect, for money, family members are part of the gang (and because a friend was in the gang (Howell, 2010).

These would include food, water, and air. He also included the needs to be healthy and active, the need for rest, and the need to keep a steady temperature and pH. All these are the basic needs, but he concluded that within this section, some needs are more important than others. This can better be explained by saying if you are hungry you crave food, but then if oxygen is suddenly taken away from you, you no longer need food but the ability to breathe again.

Maslow identified the basic needs, as deficit needs. The first is the physiological needs that are basic to sustaining life.