Socio-Demographic Factors of Gang Culture - Essay Example

GANG CULTURE: SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS Zaur D Ravinovich Criminal Justice 492 California Los Angeles Dr.Tellis Introduction Gang culture has become a widespread phenomenon all over the world. It has been one of the main causes of violence in the present world. In recent years, there has been an increase in research to understand the reasons that make youth enter and leave gangs. Therefore, there exists a need to examine such factors that force youth join gangs. Youth involvement in gang activities has become an issue of concern in most societies (Howell, 2007), and this concern has led into many scholars and researchers to study the reasons as the why there are increasing incidents regarding youth involvement in gang activities. Youth has always been a driving force for any society. Its involvement in criminal and gang activities can lead to social destruction. Large-scale involvement of youth in gangs has gained interest among many researchers because of the harm associated with this culture, particularly, when youth on which the future of a nation depends becomes involved in gang activities. Researchers have been studying the factors that make the mind of young adults to join a gang. For example, cultural factors, social factors, and financial factors have always been the areas of concerns for researchers. Despite the growing body of literature regarding socio-demographic factors that affect the decision of youth to enter or leave a gang, researchers have not been able to give a detailed insight into the issue. Previous studies (Wanberg, 2004; Chaskin, 2010; Heinonen, 2011) have not been able to identify accurate reasons that inject a sense of segregation and disagreement in the minds of youth. Additional studies are required to know the socio-demographic factors that influence the decision of youth regarding joining or leaving a gang. This study proposes to (1) identify socio-demographic factors that make youth enter of leave gangs and (2) determine whether sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination are also some main factors leading people to form or join gangs. Previous researches have been unable to get an insight into factors that promote formation of gangs among youth. In this study, programs have been aimed to know the differences between youth who are part of a gang and those who are not. This research also aims to understand youth’s engagement in gangs regardless of religious, ethnic, racial, and gender differences. The goal will be to increase awareness of those socio-demographic factors that influence the decision of young people regarding joining or leaving gangs. Literature Review History and Organization of Youth Gangs Origin of youth gangs A youth gang is not a new phenomenon in the society as it dates back in 17th century. At that time, they were characterized with wearing of distinct colors for their identification and arose mainly from social and economic vacuum in their neighborhoods and their contemporary societies (Wiener, 2005). They used to be unprivileged people who formed gangs to snatch their rights forcefully. For example, when a person is deprived of his/her rights, he/she thinks negative of society and the interest in joining gangs increases. For example, if a person observes racial discrimination in society, he/she starts thinking negative of the society and uses every negative way to snatch the rights from being he/she is being deprived through discrimination. Therefore, such people join gangs to get their rights using force and get involved in violent activities (Jankowski, 2003). Youth gangs are distinctive groups mainly associated with young adults in adolescents usually involved in extensive illegal activities in the society (Wiener 2005). These youth gangs develop negative identification with the agencies of law enforcement, as well as the neighborhood residents (Goldson, 2011). The basic cause of this negative image is usually the violence associated with gang culture. The distinguished emerging larger gangs do have a powerful and resourceful organization, access to powerful and dangerous weapons, and resourceful media which they use to recruit young children into these gangs (Jankowski, 2003). Based on this, it can be argued that youth gangs are considered a threat to the peaceful coexistence of the society at large. The origin of youth gangs is greatly attributed to an economically and socially disadvantaged background (Howell, 2005). For example, young people, who face discrimination and are unable to get their rights legally, form gangs to get those rights. These youth gangs in most societies and neighborhoods are perceived by its members to fill several needs that range from psychological and physical needs to economic and social needs (Howell, 2005). Based on these studies, it can be said that youth involved in gangs try to fulfill all of their needs which cannot fulfill normally. Moreover, it is also notable that these underlying needs are associated with the failure of the family to fill the arising gaps from this. Gangs notable intents is focused on provision of friendship, sense of identity, searching for wealth and finally for the purpose of security (Hastings, Dunbar, & Bania, 2011). Nature and organization of youth gangs Youth join gangs mainly due to increasing trusting relationship within the gang family (Brantingham, 2006). This is attributed to negligence as well as incompetence on the parents, clergy and teachers in performing their traditional roles of counseling and guiding the youth in the society. For example, parents and teachers usually focus less on the moral and psychological development of their children because of which the sense of social respect does not flourishes well among youth. In the examination of youth gangs in general, it is notable that gang members have developed trusting solid relationships with their mentors who is usually the gang leader (Brantingham, 2006). This relationship of the mentor and the mentee comes along with patience and the willingness and commitment of the mentor in pursuing of a strong relationship (Campbell, 2011). For example, a key attribute of any youth gang leader is the willingness to do something for others. This involves the gang leader relating genuine concerns on behalf of the gang members. Therefore, the mentor does not need to condemn the mentee for their actions or their immorality but the willingness to help others ensures that the gang leader listens, understands and help the group members (Campbell, 2011). About communication approach, the youth gang leader ensures that it is effective and this can be perceived that it consolidates the productive relationship and trust between youth and gang leaders (Wanberg, 2004). For example, a gang leader tries to inject confidence in other members of the gang in order to use them for different purposes. Leaders also communicate the goals to the members of gangs and take them in confidence before making struggle towards the accomplishment (Wanberg, 2004). Based on this study, it can be ascribed that it is effective youth gangs have intensive and extensive knowledge and understanding in regard to the gang social norms and rules. Categories of youth gangs There are three main categories of youth gangs. The first category is corporate gangs in which the main focus is making money and thus considered profit making (Sánchez-Jankowski, 2003). These categories are considered to be attributed to its clearly defined division of labor, high level of gang coordination and a well-entrenched hierarchy. For example, many young people try to get money through doing illegal gang activities, such as, robbery and drug smuggling. The gang leadership structure has limited the exposure of gang members to law enforcement agencies thus members of the gang tend not to easily quit the gang (Sánchez-Jankowski, 2003). Based on this study, it is evident that this kind of the gang is highly mobile and their aim is to make profitability. Another notable category is scavenger gangs which are characterized with less organized structures (Sánchez-Jankowski, 2003). They are usually informal in structure and carryout the activities without any proper supervision. The members of the gang are motivated by the need to belong to a group only (Wanberg, 2004). For example, this category of the gang usually commits impulsive crimes and violence. The gang members are usually low achievers with no clear objective and are characterized with erratic behavior and prone to violence (Peterson, Taylor, & Esbensen, 2004). The last category is territorial gangs, and their main objective includes securing and protecting areas which they perceive to be theirs. (Sánchez-Jankowski, 2003). Therefore, it becomes difficult to have full control of the members because of flat hierarchy (Wanberg, 2004). Flat hierarchy makes it difficult for the leader to control the activities of the members properly. Members can easily depart from the gang and easy to keep in track since they are tied to their turf (Sánchez-Jankowski, 2003). Based on this study, it is notable that youth gangs develop due to social and economic gaps and youth gangs emerge as a result of mitigation of these gaps and the youths trying to address them (Sánchez-Jankowski, 2003). Involvement of Youth in Gangs Why youth engages in gangs The reasons as to why youths in the societies engage in gang activities have become an issue of concern, thus becoming a subject of study among theorist and researchers. According to Goldson (2011), youth who becomes members of gangs have a great variation. These variations are attributed to the primary basic motives and that although they influence being members of gang they are not prompt. According to Mcguire (2004), a key reason that youth become members of certain gangs is the search of justice and commonality. In relation to this finding, most of the youth in the society may perceive themselves to be oppressed. Youths having common interests come together with the aim of fighting for their rights and justifying their presence by joining gangs (Howell, 2005). From these studies, it can be argued that young people who consider themselves to being oppressed and frustrated slowly develop rebel behavior. The youths consolidate this rebellious behavior by joining gangs to consolidate their campaigns and issues (Trusty, 2002). Thus, the common objective of addressing oppression and seeking justice to a greater extent influences the formation of youth gangs. It is because of this objective that these youth gangs end up losing focus and the main objectivity which at times result into criminal gangs (Mcguire, 2004). Poverty and economic disadvantage According to Esbensen (2012), poverty and economic disadvantage are two of the main issues that make young people join gangs. There is increased poverty level among the youths thus most of the youths are faced with economic difficulties. The implications of this sense of desperation and hopelessness cause negative feelings in their minds, which ultimately leads them towards forming gangs, as well as joining existing gangs (Howell, 2005). Based on this study, it can be argued that youths living in poverty have difficulty in meeting both basic psychological and physical needs resulting into lack of pride and pride. This implicates them to join gangs to acquire cash through illegal trade such as drug trafficking (Esbensen, 2012). Another key reason that largely influences the mindset of youth and makes them join gangs is racism (Heinonen, 2011). Youths that face both institutional and personal racism have a high possibility of becoming members of gang groups. This involves youth being denied systematic privileges which include access to resources, equality and other important privileges (Goldson, 2011). Based on these studies, it can be argued that youths develop anti-establishment gang groups to air their grievances. Therefore increased racism activities and denial of their privileges towards the youths leads into establishment of gang groups. Role of Media Another key reason that influences the decision of youth to enter or leave gangs is media (Chaskin, 2010). Dramas and movies play a vital role in setting the mindset of people. Media plays a considerable role in injecting a sense of support and fulfillment of desires by entering a gang as it promotes such movies that shows success of gang culture (Chaskin, 2010). For example, action movies shown on television put an impact on the development of the youth and it leads youths to establish their own value systems concerning what they see in the media. Most of the media promote violence, sex and drugs which promote development of gangs and consider it acceptable lifestyle (Chaskin, 2010). The trend towards joining of gangs is greatly attributed to lack of support network (Johnson, 2004). Most of the gang members usually come from homes and families where they feel neglected and alienated, therefore, these youths establish gangs to satisfy the needs for love which is not fulfilled in their respective homes and families (Johnson, 2004). Based on this study, it can be argued that support network is essential in ensuring that the psychological needs are well satisfied. Therefore young people who lack support of network are facing the risk of becoming members of the gangs, thus communities need to provide appropriate programs (Johnson, 2004). Why youth exit gangs Some significant moral and social issues cause youth to exit from gangs. Some of those issues include age of the members, marital status of members, lack of parental support, achievement of objectives that make a person join a gang, formation of a new gang, and conflicts with gang members and the leader (Hastings, Dunbar, & Bania, 2011). This shows that conflicts with gang leaders and members can be the reasons for youth to end their gang membership. Joining a gang is a temporary stage for youth; they do not join the gangs forever (Taylor, 2008). Such reasons make a person end their gang membership. Increased violence also makes youth leave their gangs (Peterson, Taylor, & Esbensen, 2004). Youth seldom thinks about rejoining the gang that they leave for any socio-demographic reason (Taylor, 2008). However, some people do rejoin their gangs when they feel isolated after their exit. For example, a person is more likely to come back to the earlier state of life when the new life des not offer him/her the expected outcomes. Some other reasons that make people rejoin their gangs include lack of support from the society, lack of influence, no proper source of income, clashes with colleagues or other people of the society, and lack of the feeling of personal protection (Taylor, 2008). Limitations in existing research Despite the growing body of literature regarding social and financial factors that influence youth’s decision about entering and leaving the gangs, prior studies have not been able to give a detailed insight into socio-demographic factors. For example, there is lack of content related to the socio-demographic factors that inject in the minds of youth that they are not getting their rights and that they must join some gang to get the rights by force. Earlier studies have focused more on behavioral reasons that make youth enter or exit gangs (Hastings, Dunbar, & Bania, 2011). In this study, the focus will be to know the socio-demographic factors, such as, age, education, and income that force youth to join some gang. Prior studies have not focused on these areas due to which the need to study these factors arise. The study will include all key factors to discuss their relevance with the mind makeup of youth to join gangs. This will be the strength of this study as it will separately identify each factor and will include a separate section to highlight the significance of each factor in the involvement of youth in gangs. None of the previous studies has been able to provide accurate details of socio-demographic reasons that make youth enter or exit the gangs. They were focused more on categories and gang leadership (Wanberg, 2004) instead of telling the socio-demographic reasons that makes the mind of an individual to join a gang. They have been focused on the activities that most of the youth performs in gangs and the way they structure their activities and groups within gangs. Some have grouped media and racism as the only reasons that make youth join gangs (Chaskin, 2010; Heinonen, 2011). The researchers of existing studies could have explored the reasons by selecting suitable sample and target population to carryout the research. The proposed study will highlight the socio-demographic factors that influence the decision of youth regarding entering or leaving gangs. Moreover, there will also be a separate section that will include a discussion about the influence of gang activities on the social and economic circumstances of a country. The socioeconomic status of a person has definitely an impact of his/her behaviors. Therefore, the study will also include a discussion about the influence of all socioeconomic factors on decision-making of youth. Methodology Sample In the proposed study, the researcher will study the responses of 100 participants. The researcher will use questionnaire to get the responses of the participants. Using a social media website, the researcher will distribute the questionnaire to the participants to know their responses. The study will make use of Facebook to include participants in research. “Distributing a survey through Facebook is now easier than ever with Rational Survey’s  new Facebook integration” (RationalSurvey, 2011). The study will make use of a Facebook account to configure the survey. The researcher will go to the distribute page available on the website and will click on ‘f’ icon that is located on the right sidebar of the Facebook distribute interface. The website asks to grant permission to include people in rational survey. The researcher will click allow button to make participants give response to the questions. The questionnaire will be shared through posting to wall. “After distributing your survey you will be able to view real time response data by visiting the Analytics pages” (RationalSurvey, 2011). Use of Facebook will be helpful in getting responses from a wide range of participants (Kayam & Hirsch, 2012). During the research, nearly 20 individuals will be interviewed personally at their chosen places in order to get a closer look into the differences that occur in behaviors after joining a gang or a group. The researcher will use snowball sampling method to find the target population. Snowball sampling helps in researches where sample is rare and hard to locate (Castillo, 2009). For example, in this case, it will be hard for the researcher to find people who are the members of gangs. The snowball sampling technique will help in finding target population using reference (Castillo, 2009). As far as the duration of the interviews is concerned, each interview will take at least ten minutes and responses will be recorded on a paper. The interviews will be conducted at the place depending on the choice of the participants. Interviews will help in knowing the socio-demographic factors that affect youth’s desire to enter or exit a gang. The participants will be selected and evaluated regardless of any sort of difference between them, such as, religious, ethnic, racial, and gender differences. The study aims to get an insight into factors that promote formation of gangs among youth. The study will include participants based on following criteria: (a) age limit of 14 to 24 because this is the age when the risk of joining gangs to get favors is at the highest level (minimum limit) and the ratio of leaving the gangs is also higher (maximum limit), (b) current or past involvement in gangs (whether they have joined some gang in past or not), (c) people who would have faced some sort of harassment in past (whether they have face any kind of harassment in life). The ethical consideration for this particular research topic will be the privacy of information provided by the participants. All participants will be taken in confidence by ensuring them that their personal information will not be used elsewhere. There will be a confidential form along with the questionnaire signed by the researcher which will ensure that the obtained information will be used only for this particular research. Research Questions The guiding questions for the research will be: 1. How do socio-demographic factors cause youth to enter or exit gangs? 2. How do sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination play their role in making people form or join gangs? Measures This is going to be a longitudinal study which will determine the socio-demographic factors that make youth enter or exit gangs. The subjects will be asked to fill in a questionnaire that will be designed to investigate the reasons behind formation of groups and the differences between in-gang and not-in-gang people. Data gathered from these surveys will provide the researcher with important information regarding the issue. The questionnaire will be prepared using Likert scale model because of its effectiveness in getting true parameter values (Grace-Martin, 2009) and will be distributed among participants through emails. The questions included in the questionnaire will be good enough to obtain required information. There will be no bias in the questions as all of them will be general and will gather a particular set of information. Some of the main questions included in the questionnaire will be: 1. Are you aiming to join a gang in future? If yes, what will be the factors? 2. Why you do not want to be a part of gang? (for those who have not joined any gang) 3. What are your perceived advantages of forming or joining a gang? (for those who are part of a gang) 4. What made you feel that you must join a gang or a group? 5. Did you ever face discrimination or harassment in school life? 6. Is there any particular objective you want to achieve through gang? 7. Do you feel safe being a part of a gang? 8. What is your current level of education and income? 9. What is your age and source of income? 10. Will you ever leave the gang? If so, will it be age, income, occupation, or education? 11. How will you find a gang to join? Do you have some source? 12. What inspires you to join a gang? Is it media or some other factor? These questions will be very helpful in getting relevant information about the thoughts and behaviors of people who are part of gangs. Analysis Technique Qualitative design will be selected for this research. This design will help in getting detailed information about the issue. This type of research will also help the researcher get an insight into real issues that make people join a gang. This research will also help in using subjective information to examine the socio-demographic factors, as well as in dealing with value-laden research questions in an effective manner. Quantitative design will not be selected because it will generalize the results in the form of numbers and figures, which will not help the researcher in this particular study. As far as storing of data is concerned, the researcher will collect data through interviews and questionnaire and will store them in the personal computer system for analysis and preparation of report. The study will also include ‘induction’ as a technique for the analysis of data. The reason is that this technique will help in finding general conclusions based on the responses of the participants. It will also help in ensuring that theoretical conclusions cover whole data instead of covering just a part of it. If we talk about the validity of the research, we can say that there will be no threat to validity of the research because the researcher will take information from authentic sources, such as, real gang members and journal articles. Conclusion The results of the study will identify the socio-demographic factors that influence youth’s decision to enter or leave a gang or not. Distributing them through social networking websites will prove to be successful because participants will have access to that easily, as well as they feel privacy in filling questionnaires when a specific purpose for that is mentioned (Kayam & Hirsch, 2012). Many times, participants are not willing to answer the questionnaire when a researcher comes to them directly to obtain information. They feel hesitation when a researcher adopts such an approach. On the other hand, use of social websites not only facilitates voluntary participation but also it saves time and money of the researchers (Kayam & Hirsch, 2012). The answers to research questions will inform the researcher whether there are any difference between the behaviors of people who members of gangs and those who are not. The answers will also be very helpful in analyzing the factors that make young people enter or leave gangs. The origin of youth gangs has its connection with the economic and social background of disadvantaged people (Howell, 2005). The research will be helpful in knowing the needs that make people join gangs. Those needs may range from psychological and physical needs to economic and social needs (Howell, 2005). The results of the research will help the researcher analyze those needs and come up with a solid evidence regarding which needs influence the decision of youth to form or join gangs. The reasons for why young people from nearly every society and culture engage in gang activities have become an issue of concern because of gangs’ connection with violence and social disturbance. This is the reason why researchers have focused on knowing the reasons that cause increase in the formation of gangs. Joining of a gang is a passing stage for youth, as they leave the gangs after getting social and other benefits (Taylor, 2008). The results of the research will also help the researcher identify the factors that make young people leave their gangs. Prior researches have not been able to identify accurate reasons that influence the decision of a person to join or leave a gang. They have been focused more on effects of formation of gangs on society and people. The results of this research will be helpful in getting a detailed insight into socio-demographic factors that promote formation of gangs among youth, as well as influence youth’s decision to join or leave a gang. References Brantingham, P. L. (2006). Situational Crime Prevention as a Key Component in Embedded Crime Prevention. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice/La Revue canadienne de criminologie et de justice pénale, 271-292. Campbell, S. M. (2011). 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