Question

Considering recent changes in American culture, how would a critical theorist explain an increase in the juvenile gang population?

Answer 1

• One answer is that due to economic, racial and environmental ills juveniles are more apt to join gangs to help them cope with their downtrodden meager racially biased existence.
• Another answer is the parents and the destruction of the family unit. Juveniles join gangs because everyone needs a place to belong and feel loved. Most juveniles get this from their parents and the home environment. You will find that most gang members are juveniles from one parent families, dysfunctional families or abusive households.
• The gang gives the juvenile everything they need. Companionship, money, drugs, women and bonding. The juvenile feels as though they belong, even if what they are doing is wrong or illegal. The juvenile then gets brainwashed that the gang is there when their family is not and that they owe there loyalty to the gang. The sad thing about this statement is that most of the time, the gang members are there for the juvenile when there own parents are not.
• Parents give the excuse that they are too busy working to spend quality time with their children. The parents will usually purchase things for the children such as DVD's, video games, etc to make up for the time not spent with them. The problem with this is that when the child is left on there own and little to no parental guidance or attention is given, the child will look for that human interaction elsewhere.
• If you interview most parents of gang members you will find that they rarely took time with their child. They never played board games, never took them to the park or the zoo, never or rarely helped the child with homework or social issues the child was dealing with.
• So how can the recent change in American culture explain the increase in juvenile gang population, it is because of the destruction of the family unit and the parents not bonding with their children.