LEC 3 - Joining Groups 2 Flashcards
Why do individuals join gangs? Veccio & Carson research in lecture
Veccio & Carson (2022)
- Method: Qualitative (interviews)
- 39 ex-gang teenagers
- Analytical method: Grounded theory using inductive coding
Joining gangs: 62% of the interviewees mentioned protection
- Gangs provide safety by
- Friends having your back
- Violence/Threats = others stay away
- More than for other groups: a practical consideration more than an actual choice
“[I]n middle school [gangs are] more of a need [as opposed to “a want”] […] Kids need friends – a group of friends that will have your back.” (Veccio and Carson, 2022)
“We had each other’s back and stuff. So, if you have more…people [on] your side, you won’t have troubles in the streets. But if you don’t know people at all, you’re gonna have troubles in the streets.”
- Gangs as a way of avoiding trouble…
What is Ironic Safety and Protection?
Ironic Safety and Protection
Klein (2006): protection is “ironic”
- Gang membership often leads to violent victimization later
- This realization is then a trigger for leaving the gang
- Lack of safety = reason for leaving
Side note
Reasoning seems paradoxical (as Klein also points out). (Partially) resolving the paradox. Safety from what?
- Young men/boys look for safety in gangs
- Evidence in
- Considerations for joining
- Considerations for leaving
The group didn’t make them feel safe, lead to them leaving as well
So security is the main reason of joining and leaving gangs.
What is the relation between maltreatment and joining a gang?
Kubrik et al., (2019)
Young people from at-risk backgrounds in the U.S.
- Non-Gang
- Transient gang
- Stable gang
Study self-reported maltreatment experiences
Kubrik et al., (2019) - Possible Explanations
Those who experience more maltreament = more likely to join gangs
- Maltreatment = develop violent traits = attracted to gangs
- Maltreatment = hostility bias = attracted to gangs
- Maltreatment = feel chronically unsafe = attracted to gangs
Same underlying problem: how to deal with a violent/unsafe world?
What is traditional masculinity?
- Traditional Masculinity
- Self-reliance
- Self-control (contrast with emotionality)
- Dominance
- Complementarity of the masculine and feminine heteronormativity
- Hegemonic
- Proving Masculinity
What are the six universal features to footbal hooligan identities (Spaaij)
- Excitement and pleasurable emotional arousal
- Territorial identifications
- Individual and collective management of reputation
- A sense of solidarity and belonging
- Representations of sovereignty and autonomy
- Hard masculinity
→ explicit example (from Argentina): [Through their involvement in violence] male football fans can distinguish themselves from the no-machos, who are disqualified as hijos (‘little boys’) and putos (‘homosexuals’ or ‘sons of bitches’) and demonstrate to one another that they are real men, that they are macho) → see reference to status, honor, and ‘rules’ about how to obtain them
What is the role of masculinity in joining violent groups?
Traditional masculinity as the layer that colours all other motivations, inter-relationship between motivations.
Why do people join a violent group LEC3?
Why do people join a violent group?
- Bonding and belonging
- Superiority/status/reputation
- Sense of purpose
- Venting of negative emotion
- Safety
ALL IN MASCULINE FORM
What did speckhart study?
Speckhart 2023
- Study of motivation to join ISIS through a gender lens
- Studied Men and Women
Masculinity as reason for joining
Various roles
- Provider for family
- Warrior/Soldier
- Shared feat: Protector/Defender
For women; gender was also important
- Joining isis because of traditional gender roles
Men have the desire to feel powerful and heroic
Women have the desire to feel like a valued member of a family
What is an alternative motivation for joining a violent group?
Impressment (being forced)
E.g. civil wars
What is the relation between psychiatric conditions and joining violent groups?
These conditions play a role in violent groups
- Personality Disorders
- Learning disability
- Impulse control
More likely to fall into problematic groups because they are vulnerable to manipulation
Cause and effect
- See role of abuse,
- Psychiatric conditions may occur with group membership, but not a cause for joining.
What are the elements to joining a violent group?
Summary Joining Violent Groups
People are in these situations
- Unsafe communities
- Suffer from child abuse/neglect
- Bullying
And need
- To matter
- Safety
Violent groups address these need by
- Creating a sense of
- Belonging
- Superiority/Reputation
- Purpose
- Venting negative emotion
With a special role for ideology and masculinity.
