MALE GANG MEMBERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON GANG MEMBERSHIP AND THE ROLE OF DRUGS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15270/50-2-400Abstract
Drugs play a pivotal role in the functioning of gangs, motivating deviant behaviour and meeting members’ physiological and belonging needs. To understand the process of engaging in and disengaging from a gang, a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods was utilised. The ecological perspective was used to identify various systems that influence the individual, whilst Maslow’s motivational theory was used to explain intrinsic needs that motivate human behaviour. The findings of the study reveal that gang members present with unique physiological and belonging needs, which must be understood by social workers in order to gain optimum results with intervention.
Downloads
References
ANTON, R. 2010. Substance abuse is a disease of the human brain: focus on alcohol. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 38(4):722-884.
BJERREGAARD, B. 2010. Gang membership and drug involvement: Untangling the complex relationship. Crime and Delinquency, 56(1):3-34.
BLESS, C. & HIGSON-SMITH, C. 2000. Social research methods: an African perspective (3rd ed). Cape Town: Juta Education.
BRONFENBRENNER, U. 1994. Ecological models of human development. International Encyclopaedia of Education (2nd ed). Oxford: Elsevier.
CRAIG, W.M., VITARO, F., GAGNON, C. & TREMBLAY, R.E. 2002. The road to gang membership: Characteristics of male gang and non-gang members from ages 10 to 14. Social Development, 11:1.
DE VOS, A.S., STRYDOM, H., FOUCHÉ, C.B. & DELPORT, C.S.L. 2002. Research at grassroots: for the social science and human service professionals (2nd ed). Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
DE VOS, A.S., STRYDOM, H., FOUCHÉ, C.B. & DELPORT, C.S.L. 2011. Research at grassroots: for the social science and human service professionals (4th ed). Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
FERGUSON, M. & WORMITH, S.J. 2005. Street gangs: a review of the empirical literature on community and corrections-based prevention, intervention and suppression strategies. First Nations University of Canada.
FOUCHÉ, C.B. & DELPORT, C.S.L. 2002. Introduction to the research process. 2011. In: DE VOS, A.S., STRYDOM, H., FOUCHÉ, C.B. & DELPORT, C.S.L. Research at grassroots: for the social science and human service professionals (4th ed). Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
FRASER, M.W. 1996. Aggressive behaviour in childhood and early adolescence: an ecological-developmental perspective on youth violence. Social Work, 41(4):347-361.
HILL, J. 2002. Biological, psychological and social processes in the conduct disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43(1):133-164.
JANKOWSKI, M.S. 1991. Islands in the street; gangs and American Society. California: University of California Press.
KATZ, C.M., WEBB, V.J. & DECKER, S.H. 2005. Using the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program to further understand. Justice Quarterly, 22(1).
KILPATRICK, D.G., ACIERNO, B.S., RESNICK, H.S., BEST, C.L. & SCHNURR, P.P. 2000. Risk factors for adolescent substance abuse and dependence: data from a national sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(1):19-30.
KINNES, I. 2000. From urban street gangs to criminal empires: the changing face of gangs in the Western Cape. Published by the Institute for Security Studies. [Online] Available: www.iss.co.za/Pubs/Monographs/No48/Contents.html [Accessed:
/05/2011].
KINNES, I. 2008. Gang culture in South Africa and its impact. Presented at African Human Security Round Table Meeting. 26th May 2008. Nairobi.
KLEIN, M.C. 1995. The American street gang: its nature, prevalence and control. New York: Oxford University Press.
LEGGET, T. 2002. Drugs and crime in South Africa: a study in three cities. Institute for Security Studies. Monograph 69. [Online] Available: www.iss.co.za. Accessed: 05/03/2011].
MacKENZIE, K., HUNT, G. & JOE-LAIDLER, K. 2006. Youth gangs and drugs. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 4:3-4.
MASLOW, A.H. 1987. Motivation and personality (3rd ed). United States of America: Harper & Row Publishers.
MIECZKOWSKI, T. 1986. Geeking up and throwing down: heroin street life in Detroit. Criminology, 24:645-666.
MILLER, J. 2001. One of the guys: girls gangs and gender. New York: Oxford University Press.
MOORE, J.W. 1978. Homeboys. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
MOORE, J. 1991. Going down to the barrio: Homeboys and homegirls in change. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
MUUSS, R.E. 2006. Theories of adolescence (6th ed). New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers.
NASIR, S. & ROSENTHAL, D. 2009. The Lorong as a risk environment: drug use and gangs among young men in the slums of Makassar, Indonesia. Contemporary Drug Problems, 36(1/2).
PADILLO, F.M. 1992. The gang as an American enterprise. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
SANTÉ, L. 1991. Low life: lures and snares of old New York. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
STANDING, A. 2003. The social contradictions of organized crime on the Cape Flats. Institute for Security Studies, 74:1-10.
STRYDOM, H. & DELPORT, C.S.L. 2002. Sampling and pilot study in qualitative research. In: DE VOS, A.S., STRYDOM, H., FOUCHÉ, C.B. & DELPORT, C.S.L. Research at grassroots: for the social science and human service professionals (2nd ed). Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
SWAHN, M.H., BOSSARTE, R.M., WEST, B. & TOPALLI, V. 2010. Alcohol and drug use among gang members: Experiences of adolescents who attend school. Journal of School Health, 80(7):353-360.
SWICK, K.J. & WILLIAMS, R.D. 2006. An analysis of Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological perspective for early childhood educators: Implications for working with families experiencing stress. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(5):371-378.
TAYLOR, C.S. 1990. Gang imperialism. In: HUFF, C.R. Gangs in America. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
VAN WYK, B.E. 2010. Constructions of gang membership among high school youth. Stellenbosch: University of Stellenbosch. (MSc Thesis)
VIGIL, J.D. 1988. Barrio gangs: street life and identity in Southern California. Austin: University of Texas Press.
VIGNOLES, V.L., GOLLEDGE, J., REGALIA, C., MANZI, C. & SCABINI, E. 2006. Beyond self esteem: influences of multiple motives on identity construction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(2):303-333.
WALKER-BARNES, C.J. & MASON, C.A. 2001. Ethnic differences in the effect of parenting on gang involvement and gang delinquency: a longitudinal, hierarchical linear modelling perspective. Child Development, 72(6):1814-1831.
WARD, C.L. 2006. “It feels like it’s the end of the world”: Cape Town’s young people talk about gangs and community violence. Report for the Institute of Security Studies on the child participation study in support of the COAV Cities Project. Cape Town, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This journal is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged when works are cited.
Authors may use the publishers version for teaching purposes, in books, and with conferences.
The following license applies:
Attribution CC BY-4.0
This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation.
Articles as a whole may not be re-published with another journal.
