Ronald Akers' social learning theory employs a combination of sociological and criminological theories to explain juvenile gang behavior. Essentially, the social learning theory maintains that criminal behavior is learned based on environmental consequences such as conditioning, shaping, stimulus control and extinction. Social learning theory maintains that behavior is learned in both social and nonsocial situations (Social Learning n.p.). In social situations, certain behaviors are either reinforced or punished by other actors. In nonsocial situations, certain behaviors are either reinforced or punished through the satisfaction or not of personal needs, such as nourishment (Social Learning n.p.). One example would be the case of a juvenile who steals bread because he is hungry.
Social learning theory is helpful in understanding gang membership. In particular, social learning theory explains the sociological and criminological link between gang membership and delinquent behavior. Sociological understanding is necessary for a full comprehension of gang membership and behavior because gang membership is heavily shaped by economic, educational, familial, and social conditions and constraints that exist in the gangs' families and neighborhoods (Esbensen & Deschenes, 1998, p. 799).
The presence and growth of gangs during the 1980s and 1990s have been linked to the emergence of the urban underclass (Esbensen & Deschenes, 1998, p. 799). Juveniles from this underclass that join gangs often do so because they feel marginalized by the greater society. These juveniles find an opportunity to play a central role in a smaller group in which their "differences" from the world at large are reinforced rather than denigrated (Esbensen & Deschenes, 1998, p. 799). Moreover, factors such as wealth social prestige do not matter in the gang.
For example, one study of juvenile gang membership in Los Angeles barrios concluded that many juven...