Poor Parenting Leads Towards Children Joining Gangs While reading the novel, Always Running by Luis Rodriguez, I found a key reason why children are more prone to joining gangs than others. Luis Rodriguez writes how and why he joined at an early age and how that impacted who he became later on in life. In another article, Poor Parenting Causes Some Children to Join Gangs by Lewis Yablonsky, he states that children who were raised in dysfunctional homes, are more likely to participate in gang violence. From the moment we are placed into our mothers or fathers awaiting arms, we are influenced by everything and everyone around us. Even if we don’t recall the details as an infant, the actions and the feelings that surround us, form us into who…
While I read this book I learned that there are ways for some people to quit gangs just as others have. It is really important for communities to show gang members that they care about their well being. The different methods that were introduced to me in the book actually had and affect and some of those methods are still being used today. Some of these methods still actually work. As it is summed up in the book, if we as a community show that we care and take steps to help these kids and even adults in the gangs and show them better lifestyles maybe they’ll quit for their families as well as themselves.…
al., 2014) what may be these visible problems in troubled families? Lack of guidance? The research in this article suggests that the more problems there are in the family and the more exposure there is to this undue violence the more coherent it becomes for an adolescent to become a gang member. Supporting evidence may be approached in a scarce way through the interactional theory by Thornberry and Krohn who combined that “gang membership result from a reciprocal relationship” (Alleyne and Wood, 2010) the theory in this report conducted by the secretary of state uses additional social domains built around this idea of peer pressure or schools but do focus on families as an add on so it cannot be applied by itself with Casey’s research. The effects of a dysfunctional family according to scholars and academics combined with and based upon social aspects turn ‘young children’ to ‘young gang members’ as shown by the report from…
These weakened social institutions enable harmful social behaviors to proliferate. Gangs are also a product of social disorganization, a response to desperate conditions. The presence of conflicting values and disadvantaged neighborhoods orients the people living there towards crime. Venkatesh explains that, "In the old days, a teenager with an appetite for trouble might have gotten involved in vandalism or shoplifting; now he was more likely to be involved in the drug trade." (Venkatesh, page 72)…
Why do youth join gangs? An examination of the social factors that motivate youth individuals for gang membership within Western culture Why do youth join gangs? It appears obvious that family, neighborhood and peer groups have an immense impact on the decision for a youth individual to join a gang. Family disorganization, living with a gang member, low parental monitoring and pro-violent behavior can lead to the desire for gang membership and social acceptance among youth. Neighborhood influences, such as gang presence, availability of drugs, and economic barriers, foster the desensitization of gangs to youth individuals.…
Blood running down cristian body while getting stabbed 40 times by local gang members with a machete, Christian an 18 year old boy trying to run away from a gang, because they were in search of killing him. Cristian was pulled into the woods by a young lady who promised him sex if he came into the woods, but little did he know it was all a plan three gang members came out of the bushes, hold him down and stabbed him repeatedly 40 times to make sure he was completely dead, Christian was killed for the reason of giving inside information to the cops, Their loyalty to the gang was too strong, because of the sense family they have for each other, they decided he must die, and protect their family formerly known as a gang to the outside world.…
They like the feeling of being free and away from their parents. Therefore, many of them go down the path of joining gangs because it is a way out for…
Decker et al. (2009) elaborates on the social pressures on immigrant children that can lead to gang involvement. First generation children of immigrants have to deal with “culture shock” and are conflicted between the values that they learn from their parents and the values they learn from their new society (Decker et al., 2009). Decker et al. claims that “culture is critical” in determining whether or not a youth will join a gang (Decker et al., 2009, p. 400).…
Importantly, it is imperative to understand that youth involvement in gangs can introduce a form of adolescent adaptation. For example, it may create peer bonds; provide safety and a remedy for boredom. Adolescence with anti-social behavior are prone to engaging in juvenile delinquency, they are influenced by their peers, and at times engage for a higher social status. Juveniles may feel the pressure to join certain gangs because their friends are already involved in…
Many parents are too busy with work or trying to build a future for their teen and leave the teen alone after school forgetting that they still need guidance to help make good decisions. Many teens feel lost when parents are working all the time some join gangs for recognition that they do not get at school or at home in the family. Being part of a gang allows the teen to receive some kind of recognition that they do not receive outside the gang or affiliation that is much needed by most human beings the sense of belonging or being needed whatever the case maybe. The teen may be growing up in a neighborhood that has some gangs in it they feel they need protection from other gangs in the area. Most youths do not realize the hazards associated with gangs.…
Marshall, a man interviewed by Clayton Mosher, noted that sometimes cultural issues play a role in why juveniles join gangs. His example was as follows; “You’re a Hispanic kid and you don’t speak English very well; you go to school and what other kids do, they pick on people, so you look different because Vancouver is still primarily white, and you’re targeted; you make some friends amongst your peers who speak your language and have your same culture. At some point you have to defend yourself, “(Mosher, Interview-Marshall). This is a possible formation of a gang in today’s society. He goes on to explain “What sets gangs apart from others, besides the group, is the violence that they tend not to shy away from like other groups.…
Remember the virtual story of the child whose parents got divorced. Let's take him as an example. After the separation of his parents, he starts looking for a person or a group of people who are willing to support and protect him. Moreover, he needs to find a replacement for his family, as he no longer feels loved or wanted in his society. Even though gangs are not the right solution, as a kid he feels that it's the only way he would be able to survive this harsh…
Trying to address the question of why youth join gangs requires the examination of multiple factors, and preferably, multiple theories. Social disorganization theory explains that the place where an individual grows up matters – disordered neighborhoods lead youth to join gangs. Due to its overemphasis on disorganization within neighbourhoods, however, social disorganization theory is not able to assess every factor that causes youth to join gangs. In this paper, I argue that youth join gangs because of neighborhood influence, poverty, and peer influence. Social disorganization theory is able to explain neighborhoods that lack resources and poverty as reasons for youth gang involvement, but it is unable to account for why gang-affiliated peers cause youth to join gangs.…
A youth typically begins hanging out with gang members at age 12 or 13 (even younger in some instances) and joins the gang between ages 13 and 15”(Slowikowski). Slowikowski quotes many turn to gangs for “protection, money, respect, fun, or because a friend” was in a gang. While these are common attraction of gangs that pose a appeal, these reasons only scratches the surface of how gang are formed. Based on extensive research by Slowikowski, the formation of gang have been categorized in 4 groups: Ethnicity, race, gender, and background. By illustrating demographic aspects of a person we are given a better…
The learned behaviors through gangs are more in favor of the individual because of the respects and values pertained in the gang. Rather than outside of the gang prospect of an unsupportive society, peers, and environment for the individual, the individual strives towards the supportive side of…