STREET GANGS: A SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVE
This research examines contemporary street gangs in the United States from a perspective of social psychology. Addressed specifically in this research are initiation, group functioning, and psychological effects of gang participation.
It is all too easy and simple minded to state that contemporary street gangs coalesced around the illegal drug trade. Masters (1988) contends that the energy of the young has always been channeled into groups, and that contemporary gang activity is just an extension of that process.
Contemporary street gangs, however, represent far more than just an outlet for the energy of the young. More than anything else, these gangs provide a place to belong for groups of young people who are disaffected from their society and from their families.
A variety of reasons underlie the disaffection of young people from their society and their families. one of these factors is divorce, and the accompanying abandonment of the family by one of the parents--usually the father. Divorce should not be considered only in the legal sense of the word; marriage does not necessarily characterize many of the homes from which gang members are drawn, and abandonment by one of the parents need not necessarily stem from legal divorce.
In a study of the effect of divorce on school-aged children, Forehand, McCombs, Long, and Brody (1988) found that continued conflict between the divorce partners had an adverse effect on school-aged children in the contexts of social development, cognitive functioning, and the ability to externalize. In such situations, many young people seek the acceptance of street gangs to replace the family (Barden, 1990).
Another factor involved in the decision of many young people to join street gangs is the experience of child abuse at home (Hoff, 1990). The perpetrators of child abuse in the United States are typically (50 percent) those adu...