Micro‐Level Processes of the Gang

McGloin, Jean Marie; Collins, Megan E.

doi:10.1002/9781118726822.ch15

“…Prior research also indicated that school transitions could increase the likelihood of gang joining as a way to quickly garner social capital, which the gang can provide (Alleyne and Wood 2010;McGloin and Collins 2015;Woo et al 2015). Moreover, youth who move to a new school are at risk for victimization (Carson, Esbensen, and Taylor 2013), which may result in joining a gang for the perceived protection they can provide.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gangs can serve as a source of social capital and afford youth with a sense of belonging as well as status and respect (Alleyne and Wood 2010;McGloin and Collins 2015;Woo et al 2015). In this way, the need to gain respect or increase status acts as a pull mechanism into the gang because it makes the gang an attractive option for quickly building social capital, particularly if youth experience difficulty gaining entrée into prosocial groups (South and Haynie 2004).…”

Section: The Potential Impact Of School Transitions On Gang Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

School transitions as a turning point for gang status

Carson

¹

,

Melde

²

,

Wiley

³

et al. 2017

Journal of Crime and Justice

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The study of gangs corresponds well with life course perspectives of crime as the onset, persistence, and desistance from crime parallel the stages of gang membership. This literature commonly draws on turning points to explain the onset and desistance from criminal behavior, which are often synonymous with life transitions such as marriage, military duty, employmenteven gang membership itself. In this study we draw on life course perspectives to examine the impact of a specific life transition that is common during adolescence, school transitions, on a youth's gang status as well as variables associated with a turning point in the life course. Specifically, we focus on two competing relationships that school mobility can serve as the impetus for joining a gang, or alternatively, act as a "hook for change" and facilitate gang leaving. We use a mixed-methods approach by first drawing on qualitative data that examined desisted gang members and their interpretation of their school transition experiences. Second, consistent with a grounded theory approach, we examined these relationships quantitatively using a panel study of youth followed over a five year period.

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“…While our study highlights differences in the individual-level consequences of gang versus delinquent group membership, additional work is needed to understand how group processes shape individual-level outcomes. Further research at the group level is needed to continue to identify how gangs differ from delinquent groups (for similar calls for group-level research, see Decker, Melde and Pyrooz 2013;Hughes 2013;McGloin and Collins 2015;McGloin and Decker 2010;Pyrooz, Sweeten, and Piquero 2013), particularly with regard to group processes and other variables that are commonly associated with violence (e.g., subculture of violence, routine activities).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within the gang context, the perceived benefits of increased status and respect from gang peers can alter the ability of gang youth to make moral decisions (McGloin and Collins 2015). In fact, research demonstrates that gang youth exhibit lower levels of guilt and increased selfcenteredness (Matsuda et al 2013;Esbensen 2011, 2014;Peterson and Morgan 2014), which is unsurprising given that guilt and shame are reduced in group settings (McGloin and Collins 2015). Additionally, empathy is related to an individual's capacity for self-regulation in social situations and, therefore, may be altered during times of active gang membership (Findlay, Girardi, and Coplan 2006).…”

Section: Social Cognitive Theory and Gang Membershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differentiating between delinquent groups and gangs: moving beyond offending consequences

Carson

¹

,

Wiley

²

,

Esbensen

³

2017

Journal of Crime and Justice

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Even when controlling for high levels of delinquent peers, gang youth differ from their nongang counterparts on a variety of attitudinal and behavioral measures. Researchers have argued that differences can be attributed to the group processes present in the gang setting. This study explores the extent to which differences between youth in a gang and those in a delinquent group can be explained by Bandura's social cognitive theory. Much of the prior research in this arena has relied on cross-sectional data; in this study we expand on this prior research by using fixedeffects modeling strategies with a multi-site panel of youth. The results comparing time periods when youth were in a gang versus a delinquent peer group indicate that gang-involved youth are more violent and have fewer conventional bonds. This work is able to advance our knowledge on attitudinal and behavioral differences between gangs and other types of peer groups.

show abstract

“…Within the gang context, the perceived benefits of increased status and respect from gang peers can alter the ability of gang youth to make moral decisions (McGloin and Collins 2015). In fact, research demonstrates that gang youth exhibit lower levels of guilt and increased selfcenteredness (Matsuda et al 2013;Esbensen 2011, 2014;Peterson and Morgan 2014), which is unsurprising given that guilt and shame are reduced in group settings (McGloin and Collins 2015).…”

Section: Social Cognitive Theory and Gang Membershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differentiating between delinquent groups and gangs: moving beyond offending consequences

Carson¹,

Wiley²,

Esbensen³

2020

Social Development Models of Gang Involvement

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Even when controlling for high levels of delinquent peers, gang youth differ from their nongang counterparts on a variety of attitudinal and behavioral measures. Researchers have argued that differences can be attributed to the group processes present in the gang setting. This study explores the extent to which differences between youth in a gang and those in a delinquent group can be explained by Bandura's social cognitive theory. Much of the prior research in this arena has relied on cross-sectional data; in this study we expand on this prior research by using fixedeffects modeling strategies with a multi-site panel of youth. The results comparing time periods when youth were in a gang versus a delinquent peer group indicate that gang-involved youth are more violent and have fewer conventional bonds. This work is able to advance our knowledge on attitudinal and behavioral differences between gangs and other types of peer groups.

show abstract

Micro‐Level Processes of the Gang

Cited by 27 publications

References 73 publications

School transitions as a turning point for gang status

School transitions as a turning point for gang status

Differentiating between delinquent groups and gangs: moving beyond offending consequences

Differentiating between delinquent groups and gangs: moving beyond offending consequences

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