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GROUP PROCESS AND GANG DELINQUENCY

NCJ Number
13416
Author(s)
J F SHORT; F L STRODTBECK
Date Published
1974
Length
321 pages
Annotation
STUDIES OF BEHAVIOR PATTERNS AND ATTITUDES AMONG JUVENILE GANG MEMBERS AND NON-GANG MEMBERS.
Abstract
GANGS WERE WORKED WITH BY THE PROGRAM FOR DETACHED WORKERS OF THE YMCA OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO FROM JUNE, 1959, THROUGH AUGUST, 1962. NON-GANG BOYS WERE SELECTED FROM YMCA'S, BOYS' CLUBS, SETTLEMENT HOUSES, PARK DISTRICT FIELD HOUSES AND OTHER YOUTH-SERVING AGENCIES IN THE SAME AREAS WHERE THE GANGS UNDER STUDY WERE LOCATED. IN ALL, SIX CATEGORIES OF BOYS WERE STUDIED: NEGRO LOWER CLASS GANG, NEGRO LOWER CLASS NON-GANG, NEGRO MIDDLE CLASS, WHITE LOWER CLASS GANG, WHITE LOWER CLASS NON-GANG AND WHITE MIDDLE CLASS. THE STUDIES ARE BASED ON INTERVIEWS AND IN-PERSON PERSONALITY ASSESSMENTS, PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS OF VARIOUS KINDS AND PERIODIC REPORTS BY THE DETACHED WORKERS OF THE PROGRAM WORKING IN THE FIELD. SUBJECTS COVERED BY THE STUDIES INCLUDE PARENTHOOD IN A STREET-CORNER GANG, VALUES AND GROUP DELINQUENCY, RACIAL DIFFERENTIALS IN GANG BEHAVIOR AND SELF-DESCRIPTIONS BY MEMBERS OF DELINQUENT GANGS. ALSO STUDIED WERE STATUS THREATS, SOURCES OF THREAT, GROUP NORMS AND GANG DELINQUENCY, SOCIAL DISABILITY AND ALEATORY RISKS VERSUS SHORT-RUN HEDONISM. AN INTRODUCTORY SECTION (DELINQUENT SUBCULTURES, GROUPS, AND RESEARCH DESIGNS) AND A CONCLUDING SECTION (THE GROUP-PROCESS PERSPECTIVE) ARE INCLUDED. A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND AN INDEX, KEYED TO PASSAGES AND WORKS REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT, ARE PROVIDED.