Drug Abuse and Gang Membership of Juvenile Offenders, Essay Example

With the media popularization of appealing, romanticized images of youth gangs in the USA, there is no surprise that many juveniles appear attracted by gang membership. However, the juvenile delinquency research presents more and more evidence for drug and alcohol use, criminal activities, and violence associated with gangs more than more romantic, idealized images are (Howell, 2011). At present, as Whitehead and Lab (2012) estimated, there are 28,000 active gangs with more than 731,000 members in the USA. The majority of gang members are juveniles, male, and of Hispanic ethnicity. Moreover, it is essential to know that criminal activity is an important part of gang membership (Whitehead & Lab, 2012).

Though researchers cannot yet predict the probability of certain juveniles’ joining a gang, they have formulated a set of risk factors that increase that probability. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Strategic Tool, virtually all juveniles with a prior criminal record join gangs (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Strategic Tool, as cited in Howell, 2011). Personal factors making adolescents and children more likely to join gangs include antisocial behavior, alcohol and drug use, mental health problems, victimization, and negative life events (Howell, 2011). As one can see, antisocial behavior and drug/substance use problems are the case of John Black. Together with the previous delinquency involvement, John was caught on using crystal meth and marijuana; hence, being on probation and undergoing the intervention program after displaying antisocial behavior did not work for John Black, and was aggravated by substance use and joining a gang.

Gender is considered an important factor predetermining gang membership; the major part of gang-related research is mostly associated with males in gangs because females are traditionally considered unable to contribute to gang membership or activity (Whitehead & Lab, 2012). Up to date, only less that 10% of gang membership was reported to be female. As for race and ethnicity, they often play a decisive role in the gang membership, since there are many racial and ethnic gangs, and the dominant majority of gang members were found out to be of Hispanic ethnicity. There is increasing evidence that a large portion of gang members are recent immigrants who cannot find their place in the decent, mainstream, paid labor force, and the first-generation Americans disenchanted with the American dream (Whitehead & Lab, 2012).

As Shoemaker (2013) admitted, social class belonging is a serious predictor of gang membership because working- and lower-class gangs usually consist of youths who wish to achieve a higher level of welfare, and who aim at reaching the middle-class standards of living, though often through the use of illegal means of earning money. The values to which lower-class gang members strive include property ownership, punctuality, and ability to communicate orally and in writing, strategic planning ahead, ambition, and aggression control. As Shoemaker’s (2013) research showed, juveniles have adopted two strategies of dealing with their lower-class, under-privileged background. They either become “college boys” – the ones who focus on attaining the middle-class level of culture, intelligence, and education, thus leaving the vicious, isolated environment of the underclass, or become “corner boys” by refusing their middle-class ideal and joining gangs to involve in criminal activity. Hence, in the case of John Black, the situation he chose was to become a “corner boy”, though the state has given him a chance for correction, and put him in probation and in an intervention program.

Finally, one should note that according to Howell (2011), family problems are also a serious determinant of gang membership and substance abuse. Taking into account that John Black is from a single-parent family, one can assume that family problems have also contributed to his deviant behavior and joining a gang to a certain extent. Hence, much more intervention attention for John Black is needed to assist him in pursuing a more socially acceptable and prospectively beneficial life path.

References

Howell, J. C. (2011). Gang Prevention: An Overview of Research and Programs. Darby, PA: DIANE Publishing.

Shoemaker, D. J. (2013). Juvenile Delinquency. (2^nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Whitehead, J. T., & Lab, S. P. (2012). Juvenile Justice: An Introduction. (7^th ed.). Waltham, MA: Elsevier.