This 1966 paperback edition of a publication which first appeared in 1963 has by now been widely reviewed as a worthy contribution to the sociological study of deviant behavior. Its current appearance as a paperback is a testimonial both to the quality of the work and to the prominence of deviant behavior in this generation. In general the author places deviance in perspective, identifies types of deviant behavior, considers the role of rule makers and enforcers, and some of the problems in studying deviance. In addition, he develops a sequential model of deviance relying on the concept of career, a concept originally developed in studies of occupations. In his study of a particular kind of deviance, the use of marihuana, the author posits and tests systematically an hypothesis about the genesis of marihuana use for pleasure. The hypothesis traces the sequence of changes in individual attitude

Outsiders Studies in the Sociology of Deviance.

Few studies of gangs have explored both ethnic and gender variations in the experience of gang membership. Based on an analysis of interviews with 48 youth from a number of ethnic gangs in Hawaii, this article explores boys' and girls' reasons for joining gangs. The results suggest that although gang members face common problems, they deal with these in ways that are uniquely informed by gender and ethnicity. The interviews also confirm that extensive concern about violent criminal activities in boys' gangs has distracted researchers from exploring the wide range of activities and experiences gangs provide their members. Girls and boys growing up in poor and violent neighborhoods turn to the gangs for many reasons, and the gangs themselves take on a variety of forms in response to the diverse challenges facing their members. Most important, the interviews reveal that girls and boys, even those in the same ethnic groups, inhabit worlds that are heavily influenced by gender. As a result, male and female gan...

“JUST EVERY MOTHER'S ANGEL”: An Analysis of Gender and Ethnic Variations in Youth Gang Membership

The purpose of this paper is to respond to gaps in our knowledge about patterns of female gang participation and its causes and consequences. Data from the Rochester Youth Development Study, a panel study that overrepresents adolescents at high risk for delinquency, are used to compare gang participation and delinquent involvement of female and male adolescents. We then examine the role of theoretical variables associated with both female and male gang membership. The results lead us to conclude that, for females as well as males, involvement in gangs is associated with substantially increased levels of delinquency and substance use. There is also some similarity in the factors associated with gang membership for both sexes, although lack of school success emerges as a factor of particular salience for female adolescents. The results suggest that theory and intervention need to address the phenomenon of female gang membership as an important component of urban youth problems.

Gender differences in gang participation, delinquency, and substance use

No region of the United States is without youth gangs. Gangs exist in many large and middle-size cities and are spreading to suburban and smaller communities. Youth gangs increasingly create problems in correctional and school settings. Compared with nongang offenders, gang members are responsible for a disproportionate percentage of serious and violent offenses and engage in the sale and distribution of drugs. Race or ethnicity and social isolation interact with poverty and community disorganization to account for much of the gang problem. The gang is an important social institution for low-income male youths and young adults from newcomer and residual populations because it often serves social, cultural, and economic functions no longer adequately performed by the family, the school, and the labor market. Four major policy emphases for dealing with gangs have evolved: local community mobilization, youth outreach, social opportunities, and, most recently, gang suppression. Improved policies require the i...

Youth Gangs: Continuity and Change

The study of juvenile delinquency has focused primarily on conduct disorder and aggression in males, while relatively little attention has been paid to females who commit delinquent acts. This article offers a critical review of the existing theories of and research on female delinquency and the juvenile justice system's response to female delinquency. The inadequacies and persistence of historical theories and the conceptual and methodological strengths and weaknesses of contemporary perspectives in female delinquency are reviewed. Understanding and treatment of female and male delinquency could be enhanced through the adoption of a gender-integrated theory of delinquency that is informed by the comprehensive study of developmental, psychological, and social-ecological determinants.

http://www2.law.columbia.edu/fagan/courses/law_socialscience/juvenile_justice/documents/Hoyt&Scherer.pdf

Female Juvenile Delinquency: Misunderstood by the Juvenile Justice System, Neglected by Social Science

No abstract available. African American Offender African American Juvenile African American Female Female Offender Juvenile Offender Juvenile Female Juvenile Gang Gang Member Role Pennsylvania African American Violence Juvenile Violence Female Violence Gender Comparison Gender Differences Gang Causes Urban Youth 11-99

Black Female Gangs in Philadelphia

Graffiti, Identity and the Delinquent Gang:

as being a highly disorganized and disintegrated grouping. The two primary proponents of this approach have been Frazier (1932, 1934, 1939) and Moynihan (1965, 1967). They, among others, have portrayed the black American family as a group &dquo;rife with social pathology&dquo;. Consequently, many other social scientists have used this pathological approach as a framework for analyzing black Americans in general and the black lower-class in specific. One excellent example of this pathological approach, seemingly drawn from the Frazerian model, is the work of Kardiner and Ovessey (1951) who studied schizophrenic blacks and then took their findings

Black Gangs as Family Extensions

-*linquent behavior is so extensive and diverse that the enterprising student concerned with the relationship between deviant young people and society is hard pressed to keep abreast of current findings and theories. From anomie’ to XY chromosomes2 a myriad of causal theories extol the validity of their approach to understanding bhe precipitant and effects of delinquency. Anthropologists, criminologists, educators, geneticists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, sociologists, and a growing number of other professions continue to display their interest concerning delinquency by saturating the literature with fresh hypotheses. Single and multiple causal theories point to social ills’, learned behavior’, low academic competence5, familial dissonance6, psychological abnormalities7, genetic predispositions’,, and a number of other maladies as contributors to delinquency. Ontological and phylogenetic explanations regarding the exis,tence of delinquency so dominate the literature that it appears as if a large percentage of young people exhibit some variant of delinquent behavior.

Social Adaptation of Former Delinquents

are doomed to continued deviance, social and psychological difficultties, rearrest, reconviction, recidivism and reinstitutionalization. Perhaps this continued pathology approach is as influential in sustaining deviance as the myriad of casual factors historically blamed. Positive outcomes research attempts to counter the pathology approach. Rather than accentuate the negative, this research seeks

Waln K. Brown

Papers

Black Female Gangs in Philadelphia

Graffiti, Identity and the Delinquent Gang:

Black Gangs as Family Extensions

Social Adaptation of Former Delinquents

Socialization of Delinquents