Why Young People Join 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 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

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

Future gang members tend to become involved in delinquency--including violence--and alcohol or marijuana use at an early age. During childhood and early adolescence, friendships with aggressive peers, conduct problems, and involvement in delinquency are stepping stones to gang membership. Future gang members are likely to have other gang members in their school classrooms, they perform poorly in elementary school, and they have a low degree of commitment to school. They often are identified as learning disabled. They show higher levels of stability in the family, peer group, and school settings, and they spend lots of unsupervised time with friends. Many youth gang members have none of these characteristics. These are good kids, from good families, and they are good students; however, these youths do not remain in gangs long. Adolescents ' allegiances to friends, gangs, and other peer groups tend to be brief.

The reason behind the street gangs has been largely associated with myriad of social and economic reasons. Among the reasons as to why youth join gangs are desperation due to poverty as well as breakdown of a family as a cohesive unit. According to the survey of gang areas, Los Angeles showed identical poverty map within the area. In ss much as there are some other reasons behind youth joining gangs, when critically analyzed it, reveals that such reasons are always directly or indirectly related to family poverty and situations. Examples of these gangs are Surenos and Nortenos whose mode of operation and activities though different, share some similarities.

Social process theorists would agree that people join gangs because they do not have good influences in their life or ties to different organizations that would keep them out of trouble.

Another reason why kids join gangs is because they feel like they are misunderstood. They feel like school, parents, and law enforcement don’t understand who they are. “One felt besieged, under intense scrutiny. If you spoke out, dared to resist, you were given a “jacket” of troublemaker” Rodriguez mentions (18). School and polices see a group of adolescents living in poverty, give them the “jacket” of troublemaker and label them as a lost cause to the community. They don’t understand the reasoning of why they have chosen to gangbang, they don’t see the struggle that they face

Gangs continue to be an issue throughout the United States especially street gangs. These gangs are meticulous and organized on how they do things, but also how they target youth. There are many suggestions and studies that show the differences in youth who are involved in gangs versus those who are not. It is stated that youth who come from broken or dysfunctional families, youth tend to fall into gangs. In addition, some of the youth gang affiliated families are more likely to also engage in deviant behavior( Maxson, 1998). It is evident that it some youth stay in the cycle of deviant behavior because it is a learned behavior. Comparisons made between gang youth and non gang youth show that non gang youth have a strong support system and the usual nuclear family. In addition, they have people guiding them, whereas youth involved in gangs unfortunately are disciplined or guided through the criminal justice system(Maxson, 1998). These findings are interesting because it introduces readers on many of the reason youth fall into gangs.

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.

People often get into to gangs by offending members of the gang through a disagreement, debt, or for protection. Every day accidents happen new to the area or not, we may not always know our way. In some way shape or form, anyone can disrespect a gang member by simply bumping into them without purpose, angering the specific member causing more conflict between the gang member and the person that bumped into him leading the person into to the gang. Gang members try to help people that are in debt by getting them into to selling things illegally or stealing things. Researchers have found that “Teens also join gangs because of the mistaken belief that membership will protect them. But gang members are more likely to be victims of crimes than people not in gangs” (Klein, 2009) the realization of that person is soon realized when they or the gang comes to an end. Even though most gang members either ends up in jail, injured, or dead. People still see a safety in gangs leading to further conflict.

Adolescents who join criminal gangs are often continuously exposed to violence, drugs, and other negative behavior because they reside in socially disorganized neighborhoods. Individuals who reside in crime prone areas are more likely to become delinquents. In addition, many youths learn deviant behavior from their peers who engage in criminal activities. According to Miller’s (1992) estimation, in1982, there were about 760 gangs within the cities of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Miller (1992) notes that these criminal organizations recruited youths which caused more gang activity within the public school system. Furthermore, gangs that had a large membership of deviant youth were more likely to use gun-violence towards rival gangs than other gangs with older active members (Miller,

Gangs are becoming prevalent in today’s society and within our schools. More and more young people are turning to gangs in an attempt to escape their everyday lives and the future, which they perceive as dismal and bleak. They are initially attracted to the prestige and cash flow, which is glamorized by the street gang. Many gangs are actively involved in criminal misconduct, such as drug and gun trafficking, burglaries and homicides. However, street gangs are not just a criminal justice issue, but a social problem, which is triggered by poverty, peer pressure, boredom, despair and lacking a sense of belonging.

The subtle interplay of area poverty, high crime rates, under resourced communities, racism, intergenerational gang traditions, the easy availability of drugs, can all combine to influence young people to join a gang (OJJDP. 1994). Research also shows that rejection by peers at a young age, resulting in low self-esteem and unhappiness can lead to aggressive behavior, a condition that creates a higher risk for gang involvement (Thornberry, Krohn, Lizotte, Smith, and Tobin 2003). Moreover, a young individual can have friends who are gang members, which indeed increases the risk of gang membership. In reality a young gang member is likely to do poorly in school (Wyrick & Howell, 2004).

Juveniles often join gangs to be accepted into a society of their peers. These juveniles are looking for acceptance and a sense of belonging. They join these gangs for special status amongst their friends, protection from other gangs, financial help, peer pressure, excitement and for some juveniles, they are born into a gang society and it is a family tradition. Gangs can also act like a family. They will praise, chastise and show them a form of love and respect that they are looking for but cannot get at home.

Abstract: This review studies in depth research done on street gangs. Social issues have social scientists turning away from including this in their research around this time. Sociological views have been changed dramatically in the past 40 years due to gender and racial studies. Also, women have started to join gangs since America has been changed with woman equality laws passing.