Delinquent youth groups and offending behaviour: Findings from the 2004 offending, crime and justice survey

Sharp, Clare; Aldridge, Judith; Medina, Juanjo

doi:10.1037/e635312007-001

Cited by 55 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…This perceptual bias was coined as the Eurogang Paradox -the tendency throughout Europe to claim that the 'American gang problem' (based on inaccurate stereotypes) is non-existent in Europe (Klein, 1996;Klein, Kerner, Maxson, & Weitekamp, 2001). However, there is growing evidence supporting the existence of gangs across Europe generally (e.g., Esbensen & Weerman, 2005;Klein et al, 2001;Klein, Weerman, & Thornberry, 2006) and in the UK specifically (e.g., Densley, 2013;Mares, 2001;Sharp, Aldridge, & Medina, 2006). In the UK, examples of prevalence rates from community-based samples include 6% claiming membership to a 'delinquent youth group' (Sharp et al, 2006) and 7% claiming street gang membership 2013).…”

Section: The Current Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Denying humanness to victims: How gang members justify violent behavior

Alleyne

Fernandes

Pritchard

2014

Group Processes & Intergroup Relations

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The high prevalence of violent offending amongst gang-involved youth has been established in the literature. Yet the underlying psychological mechanisms that enable youth to engage in such acts of violence remain unclear. One hundred eighty-nine young people were recruited from areas in London, UK, known for their gang activity. We found that gang members, in comparison to nongang youth, described the groups they belong to as having recognized leaders, specific rules and codes, initiation rituals, and special clothing. Gang members were also more likely than nongang youth to engage in violent behavior and endorse moral disengagement strategies (i.e., moral justification, euphemistic language, advantageous comparison, displacement of responsibility, attribution of blame, and dehumanization). Finally, we found that dehumanizing victims partially mediated the relationship between gang membership and violent behavior. These findings highlight the effects of groups at the individual level and an underlying psychological mechanism that explains, in part, how gang members engage in violence.

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Section: The Current Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Denying humanness to victims: How gang members justify violent behavior

Alleyne

Fernandes

Pritchard

2014

Group Processes & Intergroup Relations

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“…However, more in line with strain theory, gang members do show Running head: Street gangs theory research commitment to delinquent peers . Gang members also experience an absence of parental role models and family disorganization (Klemp-North, 2007), and poor parental management skills (Eitle et al, 2004;Hill et al, 1999;Sharp et al, 2006;Thornberry et al, 2003) particularly if it occurs alongside a child's impulsivity and risk-seeking tendencies (Esbensen et.al, 2001). Yet, since poor parental management is likely to be a causal factor for impulsivity and risk-seeking, it is pointless considering these variables separately (Gibbs, Giever, & Martin, 1998;Lattimore, Tittle, & Grasmick, 2006).…”

Section: Control Theory: Empirical Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gang members are also more exposed to negative influences, such as drugs and delinquent peers (Sirpal, 2002;Klemp-North, 2007). Preteen stress exposure has been identified as a risk factor for gang membership (where deviance acts as a coping mechanism for unattainable goals, Eitle et al, 2004) as have poor parenting skills (Eitle, et al, 2004;Hill et al, 1999;Sharp et al, 2006;Thornberry, et. al, 2003), and mental health issues (Hill et al, 1999).…”

Section: Theory Of Differential Opportunitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Where there are street gangs there is also likely to be poverty, victimization, fear, and social disorganization (Chin, 1996;Goldstein 1991;Howell, Egley & Gleason, 2002;Huff 1996;Klein 1995;Knox 1994;Spergel, 1995) and low socioeconomic status (Chettleburgh, 2007;Rizzo, 2003). Young people living in neighborhoods with high rates of delinquency are more likely to commit delinquent acts than are their counterparts living in areas of low delinquency (Hill, et al, 1999;Hill, Lui, & Hawkins, 2001) and gang members have higher rates of delinquency than their non-gang counterparts before becoming involved in gangs (Eitle, Gunkel, & van Gundy, 2004; Running head: Street gangs theory research gang membership and family members who are criminally involved (Eitle et al, 2004;Hill et al, 2001;Kakar, 2005;Maxson, Whitlock, & Klein, 1998;Sirpal, 2002;Sharp, Aldridge, & Medina, 2006), and/or are gang members themselves (Spergel, 1995). Mixing with delinquent peers has been identified as a precursor to gang membership (Amato & Cornell, 2003;Esbensen & Weerman, 2005;Hill et al, 1999;Hill et al, 2001;Kakar, 2005;Maxson et al, 1998;Sharp et al, 2006), as has peer pressure to commit delinquent activities (Esbensen & Weerman, 2005).…”

Section: Theory Of Differential Associationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Street gang theory and research: Where are we now and where do we go from here?

Wood

Alleyne

2010

Aggression and Violent Behavior

151

135

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Recent years have seen an upsurge of attention paid to street gangs as scholars and criminal justice officials strive to understand and counteract the effects of gang membership. Yet, despite a wealth of theoretical frameworks and empirical findings, even fundamental issues such as an agreed definition continue to elude us. We consider some of the most influential theoretical frameworks and associated empirical findings and find that as it stands, our knowledge on gangs is still limited and rather muddy. We suggest that future directions should adopt a more multidisciplinary approach to the study of gangs. To this end, we argue that there is a role for psychology in this important body of work, and that its involvement will provide us with a deeper and more meaningful understanding of gangs and the youth who join them. 3 Running head: Street gangs theory research

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“…The above presented mechanisms have been discussed in the still-nascent empirical literature on covariates of VYG Curry, Decker and Pyrooz 2003;Esbensen et al 2010;Katz and Fox, 2010;Sharp, Aldridge, and Medina 2006;Thornberry et al 2003). The key mechanisms involved in the integrated micro-place disorder-powerlessnesscontrol theory are observed micro-place disorder, subjective powerlessness, parental control, normlessness, low self-control and lifestyle risk.…”

Section: The Role Of Self-control and Lifestyle Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro-Place Disorder, Subjective Powerlessness and Violent Youth Group Involvement: Testing an Integrative Control Theory

Pauwels¹,

Svensson²

2014

Int. J. Criminol. Sociol.

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Abstract:In this study we test an integrative theory that seeks to explain why youth that live in disordered micro-places have an increase likelihood of becoming involved in a violent youth group. The emerging integrative theory is based on the principle of conceptual end-to-end integration and is the result of an attempt to integrate (1) a contemporary version of subjective powerlessness theory with (2) an integrative control framework of violent youth group involvement. We submit the thesis that the both aforementioned models are highly suitable for conceptual integration as micro-place disorder is a common antecedent. In addition, both models share an intervening mechanism in the observed micro-place disorder-violent youth group involvement relationship: the concept of normlessness. An integrative model allows for the study of multiple pathways through which micro-place disorder and subjective powerlessness affect the likelihood of becoming involved in a violent youth group. Using path analyses for continuous and dichotomous outcomes we test key propositions of our theoretical elaboration. Our research is based on a large sample of youths in early adolescence (N=2,486) in the urban context of Antwerp, the second largest city of Belgium. The results indicate that micro-place disorder increases decreases parental monitoring and increases feelings of subjective powerlessness. Normlessness and low self-control are important mediators in the "causal chain" between micro-place disorder, subjective powerlessness and violent youth group involvement. Low self-control and lifestyle risk further mediate the effects of subjective powerlessness, normlessness and micro-place disorder. The implications of these findings for future studies of violent youth group involvement are discussed.

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Delinquent youth groups and offending behaviour: Findings from the 2004 offending, crime and justice survey

Cited by 55 publications

References 29 publications

Denying humanness to victims: How gang members justify violent behavior

Denying humanness to victims: How gang members justify violent behavior

Street gang theory and research: Where are we now and where do we go from here?

Micro-Place Disorder, Subjective Powerlessness and Violent Youth Group Involvement: Testing an Integrative Control Theory

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