NCJ Number: 193318
Title: Adolescent Gang Participation: Psychological Perspectives
Journal: Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology Volume:16 Issue:2 Dated:Fall 2001 Pages:33-47
Author(s): John Hitchcock
Date Published: 2001
Annotation: After a review of the increase and trends in juvenile gang
participation among American youth, this paper provides an
overview of relevant research and theory from the various domains
within psychology, so as to explore explanations for why adolescents become involved with gangs.
Abstract: Despite the lack of a universal definition of a gang, the
research presented in this paper can be applied to any youth
group in which the majority of its membership engages in
initiation rituals, hand signals, graffiti, drug use, and the
setting of territorial boundaries for the group. It is also
common for gang members to use a variety of identifying marks,
such as specific clothing, tattoos, hairstyles, and language.
Multiple data sources indicate that gang activity has increased
dramatically over the last two decades; whether or not this
increase has continued over the last few years is currently in
question. If there are to be better explanations for gang
participation and if an interdisciplinary theory that might
predict when an individual might join a gang is to be developed,
psychology must become more involved. One section of this paper
focuses on Erikson's psychosocial theory ("Childhood and Society"
and "Identity, Youth and Crisis"). According to Erikson, the ego
develops over a predetermined set of stages that begin during a
critical time period. This paper focuses on the fifth stage
identified by Erikson as "Identity vs. Role Confusion." In this
stage, many adolescents reject the standards imposed on them by
adults and resort to "clannish" behavior that involves being
cruel to others perceived as different from their group. During
this stage, adolescents also seek to develop a workable identity
that involves an ideology and a set of values. Under this theory,
it is reasonable to suggest that joining a gang can foster the
development of an identity and a clear behavioral and ideological
map. This theory, however, does not sufficiently explain why some
adolescents join antisocial gangs and others do not. Other
sections of the paper discuss general socialization theory,
social learning theory, and ecological systems theory as possibly
relevant to a psychological theory for why youth join gangs.
Suggestions are offered for additional research, given the
sparseness of psychological research on gangs. 49 references
Main Term(s): Juvenile/Youth Gangs
Index Term(s): Crime causes theory; Gang member attitudes; Gang Prevention; Juvenile gang behavior patterns; Psychological causes of delinquency
Page Count: 15
Format: Article
Type: Literature Review
Language: English
Country: United States of America
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