Contemporary Street Gangs in the U.S. T

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 adver

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ts, "many . . . people find it increasingly difficult to maintain friendships, neighborhood ties, family relationships, and the like" under the changing conditions of their lives (Unruh, 1983, 23). The deaths of friends and spouses, together with mobility restrictions related to both health and income, continually reduce opportunities for social integration. Incarceration, and while incarcerated, solitary confinement, act in a similar manner. Social pressures and life conditions experienced..... "may result in unique life styles, social roles, and interpersonal stresses. Consequently the importance of..... peers in supplying sources of support and knowledge in social life is . . . magnified" (Rose, 1986, 27). Street gangs are social groups. The development and growth of social groups are functions of four activities. These activities are (1) adaptation, (2) goal attainment, (3) integration, and (4) pattern-maintenance and extension (Bertrand, 1987). The motives for the development of social groups are (1) the immediate gratification of personal needs,(2) the gaining of mechanisms for continuing gratification, (3) the pursuit of collective goals, and (4) the gaining of conditions for self-determination. Certainly, gangs f
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Approximate Word count = 1573
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)