Youth Gangs Research Paper

Youth gangs have long populated cities and have had an immense impact on many citizens across the world. Thousands have wondered why over 3000 Canadian youth join blatantly dangerous gangs and why they continue to stay in such unhealthy and threatening environments. (Government of Canada) Citizens have deep concerns over why the governments in countless countries have been unable to reduce the rate of these organizations. Gangs are a result of the flaws present in human society and only through the actions of society gangs can be prevented from flourishing. Both the origins and methods of reduction of youth gangs can be greatly understood through sociology perspectives. The decline of properly functioning social institutions, prejudice, and
In North America, minorities, especially those of African American and Latino descent have suffered the highest forms of injustice, and unsurprisingly, teenagers belonging to the races of Latino and African compose 45% and 35% of gang members respectively. (National Gang Center). This is largely due to the stereotypes enforced on these individuals by society. Those of African heritage have been stereotyped by media and politicians as savage-like, dangerous and evil, and Latino people have been standardized as lazy and unintelligent. (Psychology Today). These simplified social views have completely disregarded individual variation and birthed prejudices. As a result, many minorities are alienated and denied opportunities only due to the colour of their skin. Discrimination leads to anger, violence, self-hatred, low self- esteem and an overall poor mental health ( ). Since these youth feel as if society has victimized them and they are treated unfairly, they join gangs. The anger and violence present in individuals may lead to the formation of gangs as an act of rebellion. They then take out their anger out on the world as revenge for the treatment they were subjected to. Self-hatred can lead to feelings of isolation, one of the worst punishments youth can experience (Peggy Daniels). To compensate for these emotions, they join gangs which offer temporary
The looking-glass self, a theory by Charles Clooney state that the social identity of one is formed by the people they most interact with, refered to as the primary group. For many teens, the primary would be parents, siblings and close friends. If the parents of teenagers are members of gangs, they will grow up with a positive attitude towards the gangs and feel as they also belong there. In fact, many family members play a pivotal role in their children joining gangs (FBI). “Fitting in” is also an important topic when discussing gangs. Friends that belong to gangs would make the idea of a gang more appealing and thereby convince the teen themselves to join. Many teens base their choices on the approval of their friends, and if the gang is regarded as “cool” by friends then adolescents feel as though it is an appropriate method of developing an identity. By joining the gang, teens feel as if their is a stronger sense of belonging in relation to their friends and family. ( Youth Government )The primary members of a teen’s lives have an immense impact on what builds the social identity of these teens. However, if these essential people of a teenager’s life are not present, it can cause complications. The absence of family in an adolescent's life and ones with parents who do not play an active part in their life prevent teens