Chapter 8 Flashcards
Which term refers to a loosely organized group who shares interests and activities?
Crowd
Research has found that close affiliation with a high status peer crowd…
can afford protection against depression and other negative psychological symptoms
What is most likely to affect participation in antisocial behavior from adolescence to young adulthood?
Peer rejection
Delinquent acts tend to be committed in small groups rather than alone, a process known as…
co-offending
Klein argues that which factor stands out in all definitions of gangs?
The group is committed to criminal activity, although most activities are noncriminal
Which youth gang was found to roam places in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia in the 1820s?
The Roach Guards
Frederick Thrasher identified an interstitial area as an area…
of the city that forms when there is a crack in the social fabric and in which deviant groups form
Gangs are thought to have reemerged, at least in part, because of the…
lack of stable families and adult supervision
Based on law enforcement reports, there an estimated…gang members throughout the United States
730,000
Gangs are more frequently found in which region of the United States?
Midwest
What is the most common reason for gangs to migrate?
the presence of various social factors such as relocation of families
Which term refers to youth cliques in gangs who establish unique groups with separate names, identities, and experience?
klikas
Which type of gang concentrates on drug use and sales but forgoes most delinquent behavior?
Party gang
The term…is used to describe most gangs because they tend to maintain a small core of committed members and a much larger group of affiliated youth, who participated in gang activity only when the mood suits them.
near-group
Which hypothesis argues that gang membership aids deviant behavior because it provides the structure and group support for antisocial activities?
Facilitation hypothesis
The Rochester Youth Development Study found that young gang members were…more likely to carry handguns than were nongang juvenile offenders
10 times
Which view of gang formation argues that gangs form because of the destructive sociocultural forces in problematic inner-city areas?
Social disorganization view
Which view of gang formation proposes that kids join gangs for protection, fun, and survival?
Rational choice
Which term refers to law enforcement efforts in which one or more police officers, usually from youth or detective units, are assigned exclusively to gang-control work?
Gang details
During the 1950s, detached street workers…
worked on the gang’s turf to provide them with positive role models
Which factor may be more important than parental nurturance in the development of long term behavior?
peer influence
The Crips gang was created in Los Angeles in 1969 with the original name of…
Baby Avenues
Within common gang slang, the number 14 refers to allegiance to…gangs
Northern California
According to the anomie/alienation view of gang formation, feelings of alienation may be…once kids join gangs
exacerbated
Which law enforcement effort involve traditional police personnel, usually from the youth unit, who are given responsibility for gang control?
Youth services programs
Parents are the primary source of influence in early years, but between ages 8 and 14, children typically begin to seek out…
a stable peer group
…have a greater influence than…over decision making among youth
Friends; parents
Cliques
Small groups of friends who share intimate knowledge and confidences
Crowds
Loosely organized groups who share interests and activities
Adolescent self-image is formed by
perceptions of one’s place in the social world
Poor peer relations is related to
high social anxiety
Close affiliation with a high-status peer crowd protects against
depression and other negative psychological symptoms
Co-offending
Delinquent acts tend to be committed in small groups rather than alone
According to control theory, antisocial adolescents seek out
like-minded peers for criminal association and to conduct criminal transactions
According to labeling theory,
deviant kids are forced to choose deviant peers
According to social learning theory,
delinquent friends cause law-abiding youth to get in trouble
According to routine activities,
kids with like-minded peers without parental control are more likely to be involved in delinquency
According to rational choice theory,
kids choose to get involved with delinquent peers because they have high status in the youth culture
A gang is a
group of youths who collectively engage in delinquent behaviors
Gang expert Malcolm Klein argues that two factors stand out in all definitions:
Members have self recognition of their gang status and special vocabulary, clothing, signs, colors, graffiti, and names; there is a commitment to criminal activity
Some defining factors of gangs:
Three or more members, generally aging from 12 to 24; a shared identity, typically linked to a name and often other symbols; some permanence and a degree of organization; involved in an elevated level of criminal activity
Social gang
Some minor drug and alcohol use; focus on social activities
Party gang
Focus on drug use and sales, but not other delinquent activities
Serious delinquent gang
Focus on serious delinquent activity, but not drug dealing or use
Organized gang
Heavy involvement in serious delinquent behavior and violence
Near-groups
Clusters of youth who outwardly seem unified, but actually have limited cohesion, impermanence, minimal consensus of norms, shifting membership, disturbed leadership, and limited definitions of membership expectations.
Trends of age in gangs
Ranges widely (ages 8 to 55); average age is increasing
Gender statistics
Traditionally male; gender-mixed gangs are becoming more common; one-third female, females in all or majority-female gangs with lowest delinquency rate
Why do girls join gangs?
Financial opportunity; identity and social status; peer pressure; escape turbulent family lives; protection
African American and Latino youths predominate gang membership:
1/2 are Hispanic/Latino; 1/3 African American; 1/5 European American
Some of the African American gangs in the US are:
Black P. Stone Nation: 6,000-8,000 members; Bloods: 7,000-30,000 members; Crips: 30,000-35,000
Unique characteristics of African American gangs
NicknamesNondescript attire Distinctive hairstylesTattooing Distinctive graffiti
Gangs are…in the Latino culture
popular
Admission to Latino gangs involves rituals that prove their…
machismo
Latino gangs are known for their dress code of
tank style t-shirts
The most feared Latino gang is
Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), the nation’s most dangerous gang
Latino gang territory is marked with…
colorful and intricate graffiti, stylized lettering, and 3-D designs
Asian gangs are prominent in
New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Houston
…is the largest and most violent Asian gang in the U.S.
Tiny Rascal Gangsters
Characteristics of Asian gangs
Unique because they do not share qualities with other ethnically-based groups; victimize members of their own ethnic group; more organized than other gangs, have recognizable leaders, more secretive, less territorial, and less openly visible
The first American youth gangs were
European American
During the 1950s, Anglo gangs competed with
African American and Latino gangs
Today, …account for less than…of all gang members
Anglo gang members; 10%
Members of Anglo gangs are often
alienated middle class youth
Anglo gang members are often referred to as
skinheads, and may be identified by a shaved head and Nazi or KKK markings
Hybrid gangs are a
Mixture of racial/ethnic groups
Members of youth gangs commit more crime than
any other group of youths
Three explanations for association of gang membership and delinquency:
selection hypothesis; facilitation hypothesis; enhancement hypothesis
Gang members are:
More violent than non-members; more likely to carry weapons; more likely to commit homicide
Violence in gangs is used to:
Transform a peer group into a gang; maintain the gang’s internal discipline ; prestige crimes
prestige crimes
When a gang member steals or assaults to gain prestige in the gang
The anthropological view of why youth join gangs
Appeal to tribal instincts
Social disorganization/sociocultural view of why youth join gangs
Youth gangs form due to destructive sociocultural forces in disorganized areas
Anomie/alienation view of why youth join gangs
Alienation leads to gang involvement; social conditions encourage gang activity
Trait view of why youth join gangs
Gang members have biological and psychological traits that make them prone to violence and to joining gangs
Life course view of why youth join gangs
Gang involvement is indirectly related to continued participation in street crime and to the probability of being arrested.
Rational choice view of why youth join gangs
Youths may make a rational choice to join a gang
Law enforcement efforts against gangs
Youth service programs; gang details; gang units
Community control efforts against gangs
Detached street workers; gang outreach; recreation
detached street workers
Social workers who went out into the community and established close relationships with juvenile gangs with the goal of modifying gang behavior to conform to conventional behaviors and helping gang members get jobs and educational opportunities.
gang details
in which one or more police officers, usually from youth or detective units, are assigned exclusively to gang-control work
gang units
established solely to deal with gang problems, to which one or more officers are assigned exclusively to gang-control work
Why gang control is difficult
Aggressive tactics can be overzealous and alienate the community; social and economic solutions seem equally challenging; it is a socio-ecological phenomenon, requiring social solutions that do not have an easy fix
The Cure Violence program approaches violence as an infectious disease by:
Detection and interruption; behavior change; changing community norms
According to ___________________ theory, kids who engage in unstructured socializing with like-minded peers, without parental controls, will have greater opportunities to get involved in delinquent behaviors than those who receive adult monitoring and control.
routine activities
According to the _____________ view, ganging can provide girls with a sense of sisterhood, independence, and solidarity, as well as a chance to earn profit through illegal activities.
liberation
According to the ___________________ view, gangs appeal to adolescents’ longing for the tribal process that sustained their ancestors.
anthropological
Klein notes that even the most criminal gang members spend the bulk of their time:
in noncriminal activities
A(n) _________________ gang is heavily involved in criminality, particularly in drug sales, and they use violence to establish control over drug sale territories.
organized
