Why Do Teens Choose To Join A Gang?

The decision to join a gang is one of the deadliest and uncertain decisions a person can make. Gangs alter the lives of America’s youth in so many different ways. Making a decision to join a gang is life changing and can often lead to life changing situations such as jail or death. Despite the negativity surrounding joining gangs there is often times theoretical reasoning behind those decisions. As we take a closer look into the lives of gang members, we will learn and understand the rationality behind their motives. We will explore the reasons why gangs are such a big part of certain communities and why teens choose to join. We will also discuss the many dangers associated with belonging to a gang. Gangs in American have been an enormous
Today in America, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has recognized that there are about three different types of gangs: outlaw gangs, prison gangs and street gangs. Outlaw gang cliques are individuals who purchase and vend weapons mainly guns and also drugs. These groups are known to be extremely dangerous and not your typical motorcycle club members. While outlaw gangs are normally not an issue for citizens, they have become an extremely big issue to law enforcement officers all over the United States. Next you have prison gangs which are actually increasing year after year due to the extremely high numbers of gang members being incarcerated. Gang networking within the prison walls is exceedingly high and previous gang members are seeking out and recruiting other inmates to join their gangs. Prison gangs are not seen as a threat to individuals on the outside of the prison walls. However, they pose many threats and hazards for the security officers who are tasked to lookout over inmates every day. The last gang is known as the biggest and most widespread type of gang to exist in America which is street gangs. Street gangs are usually made up of young children or adolescents majority being males who often near one another within the same neighborhood. “They claim a certain turf, or geographic area, like a city block or set of blocks, as belonging to them” (Byers, p. 7). Most
Within the Labeling theory it is understood that individuals who consider themselves deviant are labeled as such by society. Why is this motivation enough for young teens to join street gangs? Look at the bigger picture many teens are affiliated with gangs come from families who were in gangs as teens or young adults. This type of norm is often negatively labeled but due to its domino effect the cycle is never broken. The labeling theory explains why when individuals are labeled it can cause many to feel inferior and therefor these individuals take on the roles of being labeled as deviant persons. They began to believe such negativity and it transforms into a way of life for them. When an individual is labeled as deviant they soon began to take on that lifestyle and for many of America’s youth that lifestyle often transitions into joining a gang. The labeling theory as it relates to gangs can be critical as it is what marks an individual negatively or is what allows them to viewed as deviants. I believe “push and pull factors” (swift, p. 28) are those influences that drive young kids into gangs and such as being labeled as coming from a rubbish environment due to violence. Pull factors are those aspects tend to cause an individual to be fascinated with something. This normally happens to young children and teens upon seeing the gang life and everything