Socioeconomic and environmental influences attract young people to gangs. Joining a gang is more often a conditioned response to the experience of growing up in inner cities than a free choice. Further, joining a gang is a predictable consequence for youth surrounded by unemployment and poverty, an entrenched gang subculture, and dangerous levels of crime and violence. Many youth view gang membership as an inevitable part of life and believe there are no other options but to join a gang. Whatever the reasons for joining a gang, many gang members believe they will eventually be imprisoned, seriously injured, or killed. Gang involvement, however, does not have to an inevitable outcome for inner-city youth. Regardless of whether a strong gang subculture exists in certain neighborhoods, many youth are able to successfully avoid gangs. Influences drawing youth to gangs are examined in opposing viewpoints that deal with what encourages gang behavior, the seriousness of the gang problem, how street gangs can be controlled, and whether Americans consider gang members as predatory criminals or disenfranchised youth. References, tables, and figures