NCJ Number
123129
Journal
Salud Mental Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1989) Pages: 26-36
Date Published
1989
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Using participant observation, this study examines the activities, membership, and structure of a juvenile gang in a high-risk neighborhood of Mexico City.
Abstract
A team of researchers participated in various gang activities, including football games, chess matches, conversations on topics of importance to gang members, a drama in which the gang represented its way of life in the community, and a discussion of movies related to gang life. The gang was composed of 30 to 35 members aged 11 to 29 years. All gang members were influenced by an environment with insufficient public and sanitary services, incomes lower than the minimum salary, unemployment, poor job opportunities, illiteracy, and inadequate educational systems. Only 50 percent of gang members had completed elementary school. All gang members used drugs, although there was a separation between those who used only marijuana and those who used marijuana and solvent inhalants. Most members engaged in theft to obtain money. The study concludes that gang life is an interaction of the factors accompanying poverty and adolescence. 26 references.