NCJ Number
147386
Date Published
1969
Length
360 pages
Annotation
This is a descriptive and analytic study of the motivational, cultural, and structural attributes of the fighting or "bopping" gang, along with factors in the larger society that contribute to the existence of such gangs.
Abstract
Data and information for the study were obtained from a review of studies of the urban adolescent gang, particularly the fighting gang, and from narrative process records from the author's contacts with the Green Avenue Stompers, a Brooklyn fighting gang. The literature review identified three current major theories to explain the existence of gangs. These theories view gangs as a manifestation of generalized youth culture, a consequence of lower-class socialization, and as a solution of status needs. Findings show that when compared to the complex world of the fighting gang in urban slums and ghettos, each of the major theories of the gang is inadequate in several important respects. The most relevant of the three theories is that which views the gang as a solution to status anxieties. This theory, however, does not account for the "sick" youths who are chronically violent due to faulty primary socialization. Remedial strategies that aim to improve the fighting-gang boy's "opportunity system" are helpful for psychologically normal youth but not for the pathologically violent youth. This latter group would benefit more from psycho-therapeutic treatment. The study also describes "functionally equivalent" delinquent patterns that can replace or supplant that of the fighting gang. An 84-item bibliography