NCJ Number
172415
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1998) Pages: 35-45
Date Published
1998
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Literature on juvenile gangs is reviewed with respect to its theoretical trends regarding youth gangs in the immigrant ethnic groups since 1965, major issues that this literature fails to address, and directions for the conceptualization of new ethnic gangs and future empirical research.
Abstract
The children of the new wave of immigrants who arrived in the United States from Central and South America and Asia after 1965 have been labeled the new second generation. Violent youth gangs have become a prominent aspect of society at the same time that these children have grown to adolescence and young adulthood. The children of immigrants are not the only participants in gang activity, but many gangs have appeared in neighborhoods where immigrants have settled, and these gangs are often based on the ethnic identities of the post-1965 immigrant groups. Themes in the theoretical literature on this topic may be classified as opportunity structure approaches, cultural approaches, and social disorganization approaches. However, the literature has given only cursory attention to the relationship between immigration and youth gangs. It has also overlooked several crucial issues, particularly how and why immigration may be associated with juvenile crime groups. Future research needs to focus on these issues. 53 references