Gang Behavior

8 Pages 1895 Words

On of the most commonly seen sociological problems in our communities today are gangs. What exactly does the word gang mean, well one way of defining the word gang is a group of individuals who share a common identity in current usage and engage in illegal activities. (1) These gangs have affected the way we live in one way or another. They have taken over our neighborhoods and school and instilled fear in people. The behavior of gangs and what makes kids as well as adult’s turn to them have interested many professionals in the Sociological field. Below we will take a look at some of the behavioral factors as to why, what, and who would fall into becoming a member of a gang. Many of us may wonder, who would choose to be in a gang rather then living a normal life without the stresses of gang life. Well according to the Tennessee Sheriff’s Department any person with the following behavioral issues would have the tendency of falling into gang life. A person that has low self-esteem and feels unloved at home. They tend to have problems in school and don’t do to well with schoolwork. They have a hard time difficult time making decisions on their own and communicating with others. They also tend to come from single parent homes. Although most are boys and 10% are girls the number continues to increase. (3) This profile of the type of individual that would most likely join a gang tends to hold true in other states as well with certain exceptions.
Another question that has come up according to gangs is why. Why would some individuals choose to join a gang? Although people that join gangs come from all types of backgrounds, some are from rich homes, but our most serious gangs tend to have members that come from impoverished sections of major cities. (2) Some of the many reasons that individuals choose to join gangs are to gain some self-esteem and status. Could happen to be that kid that got picked on in school and didn’t...