NCJ Number
147582
Journal
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Volume: 338 Dated: (November 1961) Pages: 119-136
Date Published
1961
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Group delinquency has been of theoretical interest to American sociologists throughout the 20th century, and various interpretations of the origin of gang delinquency and delinquent subcultures have emerged.
Abstract
The classical view developed by Thrasher focuses on the development of spontaneous groups under conditions of weak social control and social disorganization. Two other, somewhat related, views emphasize adjustment problems of lower class boys and stress the status deprivation of such boys when they fail to place well according to middle class norms and the alienation produced when opportunities to achieve universally demanded success goals are denied lower class boys. Another view is that of the lower class street gang and its way of life as the adolescent version of a more general adult lifestyle, namely lower class culture. Sociological theories have had a tendency to emphasize irrational explanations of gang delinquency and to view male gang members as driven rather than attracted. Further, polemical pressures have tended to produce extreme theoretical interpretations. 30 footnotes