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INFLUENCE AND GANG MEMBERSHIP IN THREE JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS

NCJ Number
68873
Author(s)
R T SIGLER
Date Published
1974
Length
232 pages
Annotation
PATTERNS OF INFLUENCE IN INFORMAL PEER GROUPS IN THREE JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS MAINTAINED BY THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FOR DELINQUENTS BOYS ARE INVESTIGATED IN THIS DISSERTATION.
Abstract
THE SAMPLE COMPRISED ALL 106 INMATES IN 3 JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS. DATA WAS COLLECTED THROUGH AN EXTENSIVE QUESTIONNAIRE, AND GANG MEMBERS WERE IDENTIFIED WITH THE AID OF GIBBONS' TYPOLOGY OF DELINQUENT YOUTH. A 24-ITEM LIKERT SCALE ENABLED COMPARISONS BETWEEN GANG MEMBERS AND NONGANG MEMBERS IN THEIR ORIENTATION TOWARD SOCIETY. SOCIOMETRIC ITEMS IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE WERE USED TO MEASURE LEADERSHIP ROLES, FRIENDSHIP, AND SERVICES PROVIDED. THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT GANG MEMBERS WERE CHOSEN MORE FREQUENTLY THAN NONGANG MEMBERS FOR ALL GROUP SERVICES AND THAT GANG MEMBERS RATED ESPECIALLY HIGH FOR THE SERVICES OF PROTECTION AND CONTROL. CORE GANG MEMBERS ACQUIRE AN ORIENTATION TOWARDS DOMINATING OTHERS, AND THUS YOUTH LEADERS IN THE INSTITUTIONS TEND TO BE GANG MEMBERS. FURTHERMORE, GANG MEMBERS ARE MORE INCLINED TO BE ANTISOCIAL THAN OTHERS BECAUSE OF THEIR EXPERIENCES IN THE COMMUNITY; THEREFORE, YOUTHS WITH NEGATIVE ORIENTATIONS DOMINATE THE INSTITUTION AND IMPOSE THEIR NEGATIVE ORIENTATIONS ON THE GROUP. THE STUDY FINDINGS INDICATE THAT IF TREATMENT PROGRAMS OF THE GUIDED INTERACTION TYPE ARE TO BE EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTED, INMATE LEADERS MUST BE CONTROLLED. TABLES, A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF APPROXIMATELY 140 REFERENCES, AND APPENDIXES CONTAINING INFORMATION ON THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS YOUTH DIVISION AND A COPY OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE ARE INCLUDED. FOOTNOTES ARE NOT PROVIDED.