NCJ Number
148263
Date Published
1993
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This paper attempts to show how relationships exist within groups of youngsters which affect groups of different sizes and allow the correct application of deterministic assumptions in certain situations.
Abstract
In many situations, the modern delinquent gang appears to act as a functional equivalent of the ancient companionage in which shared responsibility dominates. Obligations and shared responsibilities are a part of the requirements of group membership. In many groups of delinquents, a common feature is diversity; differences are necessary to the quality of the group and perhaps even to its survival. Differences of viewpoints make internal conflict likely, and it is precisely these kinds of internal conflicts which bring about subtle and small incremental shifts in gang behavior, and involve a relationship of superordination-subordination between contending groups. Groups contain contradictory forces and the conflict of these opposites fuels their reality in constant change. References