Q1. What are the contributions in this paper?
The authors consider some of the most influential theoretical frameworks and associated empirical findings and find that as it stands, their knowledge on gangs is still limited and rather muddy. The authors suggest that future directions should adopt a more multidisciplinary approach to the study of gangs. To this end, the authors 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. The aim of their review is to draw attention to the significance of existing theories and research examining how street gangs form and the activities they are involved in. And so, the authors also present the argument that psychologists need to become more involved in the study of gangs and suggest the way forward by suggesting a theoretical framework that integrates criminological and psychological concepts. The authors can not, in this review, cover all the research on gangs since the literature is so vast. Instead, the authors have selected the work they consider to be representative and relevant. Most of the research the authors examine was conducted in the U. S. A., and so they only state the country of origin of work conducted elsewhere. And in doing so, the authors aim to produce ideas and directions that multi-disciplinary approaches to gang research might embrace. Before the authors can begin to examine any phenomenon they must define it. A longitudinal study conducted in Canada asked youth, “ During the past 12 months, were you part of a group or gang that did reprehensible acts ? ” ( Gatti, Tremblay, Vitaro, & McDuff, 2005, p. 1180 ). Using this definition research has shown that gang violence compared to non-gang violence is more likely to occur in public places, to involve more weapons, more assailants, and more victims ( often accidental ) who are not personally acquainted with their assailants ( Klein, et al., 2006 ). While the authors need a clear and comprehensive definition that clarifies what a gang is they also need a comprehensive theory to guide empirical work and provide synthesis in explaining why people become members of a gang. In this section, the authors review some of the most influential theoretical propositions of involvement in crime and consider their value in explaining gang membership. Theory of cultural transmission Thrasher ’ s ( 1927 ) observations of social disorganization threaded into the succession of gang research that followed. Differential association has also been criticized for stating simply that proor anti-criminal attitudes develop through the association with others without explaining how this process works ( Akers, 1997 ). Clearly the authors need a broader perspective if they are to adequately explain why people join gangs. Cohen argued that a child experiences frustration and tension due to the unequal opportunities offered in a meritocratic society that claims to operate on egalitarian principles of equal opportunity. Inadequate socialization includes ; unstructured leisure time, a failure in the educational system to provide sufficient resources, and the child ’ s misunderstanding of what school requires of him or her. This research implies that many gang members are optimistic in their expectations for their futures and contrasts with the depressed outlook one might expect from working class youth who recognize that their chances of legitimate success are blocked by the unequal class system imposed on them. This research questions the concept that 18 Running head: Street gangs theory research the lower the economic status of the individual, the greater likelihood there is of their subcultural affiliation. The central contention of control theory is that people are inherently disposed to offend because offending offers short term gains ( e. g., immediate money ) and the central aim of those with criminal dispositions is to satisfy desires in the quickest and 19 Running head: To their credit, the authors emphasize that supervision and punishment should be conducted in a loving way and that parental disappointment is a more effective control mechanism than corporal punishment. Control theory: empirical evidence Although Gottfredson and Hirschi ( 1990 ) do not directly address the involvement of young people in gangs, social control theory has been used to predict the onset of gang membership ( Thornberry, 2006 ) and has been found to moderate and predict levels of selfreported delinquency ( Huebner & Betts, 2002 ). For instance, the shared aims of gang leaders and upstanding citizens in middle class neighborhoods have resulted in a more stable and safe environment because gangs offer social control to the community and have been known to “ police ” neighborhood events even better than the police ( Patillo, 1998 ). This supports the argument that conventional theories fail to incorporate a social contextual dimension to the study of gangs ( Bursik & Grasmick, 1993 ; Spergel, 1995 ; Jankowski, 1991 ). An integrated theory of gang membership should therefore bring together the good ideas contained in current theories into a model that provides explanatory power and testable hypotheses. With this in mind the authors present a very preliminary framework of the processes leading to and from gang membership. This framework draws together concepts from criminological theory and integrates them with relevant psychological factors ( see Figure 1 ). By illustrating the pathway into criminality and/or gang membership together with alternative non-criminal pathways, and pathways out of criminality and/or gang membership, this model provides a more all-round conceptualization 28 Running head: This legitimate pathway will strengthen legitimate informal social controls and provide youth with opportunities to progress, for example, in the workplace. Opportunity for criminal learning Association with a delinquent peers means that the youth is provided with an opportunity for criminal learning and criminal involvement is likely to follow, which provides further criminal learning opportunities. Although this model is in its very early stages it has the potential to expand research findings regarding gang membership and delinquency at both a psychological and a criminological level. This review considered the role of theory and research in understanding why youth join gangs and it has identified a large number of problematic issues that need to be overcome. As a result, empirical research that is guided by each of the theoretical approaches the authors have reviewed reflects both their value and their limitations. The arguments the authors have presented show the gaps in the literature and they suggest how a multidisciplinary approach might plug them. With this in mind the authors have presented a preliminary theoretical model of how youth may become involved in gangs. Early precursors of gang membership: A study of Seattle youth. Childhood risk factors for adolescent gang membership: Results from the Seattle Social Development Project. Preliminary findings from the 1992 Law Enforcement Mail Questionnaire Project. Prediction of early-onset deviant peer group affiliation: A 12-year longitudinal study. The Gang: A Study of 1,313 Gangs in Chicago. If the authors do not have a clear definition of that phenomenon they can not know if they are talking about the same 4 Running head: Street gangs theory research entity. Others have suggested that a group of young people can be considered to be a gang if they identify their group as a separate collective, if other people also identify them as a group and if the group considers anti-social or criminal activity as a group norm ( Hakkert, van Wijk, Ferweda & Eijken, 2001 ). Furthermore, a lack of support from established social orders such as schools failed to compensate for this parental ignorance. There is also evidence suggesting no link between low socio-economic status and gang membership ( Eitle et. al, 2004 ) and that gang members may just as easily come from wealthier backgrounds ( Spergel, 1995 ). Further examples of 15 Running head: Street gangs theory research inadequate socialization include meager community resources and educational toys and facilities in the home. Agnew ( 1992 ) developed strain theory further by 16 Running head: Street gangs theory research identifying specific forms of strain ( irrespective of class ): “ ( 1 ) the actual or anticipated failure to achieve positively valued goals, ( 2 ) the actual or anticipated removal of positively valued stimuli, ( 3 ) the actual or anticipated presentation of negative stimuli ” ( p. 74 ). A further criticism of strain theory is that research shows that youth who have the most money supplied by their families ( i. e., pocket money ) are often those who become involved in gangs ( Knox, & Tromanhauser 1991 ). Gottfredson and Hirschi ( 1990 ) suggest that homes most at risk of producing delinquent children are those with criminal parents because they fail to recognize their children ’ s criminal behavior and single parents because the lone parent is unable to adequately monitor the child ’ s behavior and lacks psychological support from another adult. However, family process variables have been found to play a much smaller role in gang membership ( Thornberry, et. al, 2003 ) than control theory suggests. This suggests that familial control is not as pivotal a factor in gang membership as control theory suggests. It therefore seems that social controls may be more flexible than control theory suggests and that even if informal social controls break down to the extent that youth become involved in delinquency, they maintain influence during the period of delinquency and can be re-established sufficiently to facilitate desistance. Young people may be tempted in to gangs because they offer the potential to gain respect and status ( Anderson, 1999 ). Further, the authors need to understand more about the changing structure of gangs. The only way the authors can counteract the perpetuation of myths and errors is by rigorous theoretically derived empirical work that includes psychological factors relevant to street gang membership. Social psychology offers a wealth of comprehensive theories explaining the dynamics of groups and each offers the potential for fruitful research into the question of gang formation ( Goldstein, 1991 ; 2002 ). Other theories such as social identity theory ( Tajfel & Turner, 1986 ), social dominance theory ( Sidanius & Pratto, 1999 ) and realistic conflict 27 Running head: Street gangs theory research theory ( Sherif, 1966 ) offer us the potential to explain inter gang conflict ( Goldstein, 2002 ). However, no one theory, either criminological or psychological, has the potential to fully explain the etiology of gang membership. A theoretical framework specific to gang membership that integrates sociological, criminological and psychological perspectives would do much to guide research and develop theory further. Such a model will facilitate the examination of specific aspects of gang membership and the further development of theory. Family structure and type of neighborhood may go hand in hand since families with poor or unstable structures ( i. e. frequent changes in parental romantic partners ) are potentially more likely to live in disorganized neighborhoods. Youth who associate with pro-social peer groups are also likely to capitalize on further legitimate opportunities for informal social controls such as employment, solid romantic relationships and parenthood, and so they avoid criminal involvement. As a gang member, the youth is exposed to further opportunities for criminal learning, and s/he will become even more involved in criminal activity. In this case the youth ’ s criminal inclination will either dissipate ( from fear of further legal repercussions ) or strengthen ( from the obstruction that prosecution puts in the way of legitimate opportunities ). The authors can make comparisons between gang members, between abstaining and remaining gang members, and between gang and non gang members. The authors do not suggest that this model is a panacea to all the gaps in the literature but it is a starting point and it can be developed and expanded as findings based on its concepts shed light on old and new ideas.