SERIOUS DELINQUENCY AND GANG MEMBERSHIP

Adolescent Psychiatry, 2003 by Thomas, Christopher R, Holzer, Charles E III, Wall, Julie A

Youth violence and serious delinquency increased dramatically in the 1980s. Over the same period, youth gangs increased in number and membership (Table 1). Previously found only in large inner cities, youth gangs appeared in smaller cities and suburban communities. Some researchers (Sickmund, Snyder, and Poe-Yamagata, 1996) consider the rise in youth gangs a contributing factor to the increase in youth violence. Gang members are more likely than other delinquents to have and use guns (Maxson, Gordon, and Klein, 1985; Hutson et al., 1995). Others (Blumstein, 1995) point to the increase in illegal drug trade, particularly crack cocaine, as a cause for the increases in gangs, guns and juvenile homicide. In their study of Chicago gangs, however, Block and Block (1993) found that the relationship between gangs, drugs, and homicide was weak and did not explain the increase in youth homicide. Although juvenile homicides dropped in the late 1990s, the presence of gangs in American communities has not. The most recent survey by the National Youth Gang Center of U.S. law enforcement agencies reported 28,700 youth gangs with 780,200 members for 1998 (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, OJJDP, 2000). The survey found that youth gangs are present in all states, with 4463 cities and counties experiencing gang activity. Although these numbers decreased slightly from their peak in 1996, they still document a substantial increase and spread in gang presence over the past two decades.

Youth gangs are not a new phenomenon in society. London in the 160Os had groups calling themselves names like the Dead Boys, committing acts of vandalism and engaging in fights with each other and the watch (Pearson, 1983). Gangs may have appeared in the United States in the 1780s (Sheldon, 1898). As a factor in the development of antisocial behavior, gangs have been a focus of sociological research since the 1920s (Thrasher, 1927; Shaw and McKay, 1943). Jenkins and Hewitt (1944) described membership in delinquent peer groups as an important aspect in the psychiatric classification of behavioral problems in youth. Their work, along with other studies (e.g., Argyle, 1961), served as the basis for the "group delinquent reaction" diagnostic category in the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) 1968 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, second edition (DSM-II). Gangs were viewed not only as a causative factor in delinquent behavior, but also as predictive of a potentially better outcome than the "unsocialized, aggressive delinquent reaction" (Meeks, 1975). Robins (1966) did not find gang involvement to be of any predictive value for adult antisocial behavior, however. In her longitudinal study of boys referred to a child guidance clinic, antisocial boys who participated in gangs were not significantly more likely to be sociopathic adults than other antisocial boys, nor were gang members, when compared with boys who did not belong to a gang. The concept of deviant peer groups as important to the classification of antisocial behavior in youth persisted with the subcategory of "group type conduct disorder" in the DSM-III-R (APA, 1987) but was dropped from the DSM-IV (APA, 1994).

Part of the difficulty with understanding youth gangs is the difference in opinion as to what constitutes a gang as opposed to a deviant peer group (Klein, 1995; Curry and Decker, 1998). Most researchers recognize a youth gang as a distinct group recognized by its members and the community and involved in criminal acts. Other groups are involved in crime (such as hate groups, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs), but these are generally considered distinct from youth gangs. Joining a gang, like antisocial behaviors in general, tends to be more common in males than females, but there appears to be an increase in both female gang members and female gangs (Winfree et al., 1992; Curry, Ball, and Decker, 1996). Most gang members are between the ages of 12 and 24 years old, with an average age of 18 (Curry and Decker, 1998). Recent trends in age distribution within gangs indicate that membership may be aging (OJJDP, 2000).

Contrary to popular belief, most gang members do not belong for life but only for a year or so (Esbensen and Huizinga, 1993). The size of a gang can vary greatly but generally ranges from 10 to 25 members, and larger gangs tend to be composed of smaller cliques. A gang, in contrast to a delinquent peer group, is typically characterized by a name, a recognized leader or leadership, and home territory or turf (Klein, 1995). Gangs also establish their identity through the use of dress, speech, signs, and graffiti (Knox, 1991). Gangs tend to be ethnically homogeneous and composed of minorities, reflecting the neighborhoods where they are more likely to be found and to recruit their members (Spergel, 1993).

Substantial information exists about delinquent behavior by youth gangs in established communities, but information is limited concerning the new youth gangs and gang members in emerging gang communities. It is unclear whether the recent spread and rise in number of youth gangs reflected a marked change in youth gangs or an expansion of previous patterns. In addition, there is little information regarding gang members' personality characteristics or psychopathology.