Glasgow’s Evolving Urban Landscape and Gang Formation

Glasgow has long been synonymous with gangs, yet literature remains limited. This article seeks to contribute twofold by first analyzing how the evolving urban landscape of Glasgow during, and immediately after industrialization, contributed to gang formation and reformation in the form of razor gangs, and then what McLean (2017) terms the Young Street Gang (YSG). Second, by examining both gang types, the author is able to demonstrate how in the corresponding wider urban context, gangs respond in kind and questions whether or not, situated within a new era of urbanization, we are witnessing the emerging new face of Glasgow gangs.     

Cholas,Mexican-American girls,and gangs

Based on interviews with twenty-one present and former female gang members, this study focuses on Mexican-American gang girls as they operate within the Mexican-American gang milieu in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The violence demanded of gang members is described within the context of the gang subculture. Gang structure, activities, attachment to the group and internalization of the norms of that group, reasons for joining the gang, the group as a source of motivation and support, and sanctions applied to maintain group cohesion are described from the point of view of the gang member herself, providing an internal understanding of her world.Portions of this article from Harris, M. (1983).Cholas, Latino Girls and Gangs. New York: AMS Press. Reprinted by courtesy of AMS Press, New York.     

Pathways to Risk Among Inner-City African-American Adolescent Females: The Influence of Gang Membership

Differential rates of participation in three categories of risk behaviors (i.e., sexual activity, substance use, violence) were explored, comparing gang members to nonmembers, within a sample of 1,143 inner-city African American adolescent females. The relationship between gang membership and risk behavior also was examined, by exploring the association between a variety of microsystemic influences (e.g., gang, family, school) and participation in risk behaviors. MANOVA analyses indicated that gang members, relative to nonmembers, reported higher rates of participation in each of the three categories of risk behaviors. Stepwise linear regression analyses indicated that gang membership was the variable with the most consistent predictive ability, across all categories of risk, as it entered early in all equations and remained in all three final models after controlling for other statistically significant contextual variables. Findings suggest that intervention efforts aimed at reducing adolescent females' participation in sexual activity, substance use, and violence should consider the influence of gang membership on the participation in these behaviors.     

Notional number agreement in English

To investigate the contested role of notional number in English subject-verb agreement, we used a sentence completion task to examine agreement with minimally different subject noun-phrases, such as the gang on the motorcycles and the gang near the motorcycles. These contrasting phrases biased different notional construals of collective nouns, such as gang, which are normally ambiguous between plural (distributed) and singular (collected) construals. With subjects biased toward spatial distribution, such as gang on motorcycles, more plural verbs occurred in speakers’ sentence completions than in sentence completions with a bias toward spatial collection such as gang near motorcycles. This offers strong evidence regarding both the existence and the magnitude of notional effects on subject-verb number agreement in English.     

Estimating the effect of gang membership on nonviolent and violent delinquency: a counterfactual analysis

This study reconsiders the well‐known link between gang membership and criminal involvement. Recently developed analytical techniques enabled the approximation of an experimental design to determine whether gang members, after being matched with similarly situated nongang members, exhibited greater involvement in nonviolent and violent delinquency. Findings indicated that while gang membership is a function of self‐selection, selection effects alone do not account for the greater involvement in delinquency exhibited by gang members. After propensity score matching was employed, gang members maintained a greater involvement in both nonviolent and violent delinquency when measured cross‐sectionally, but only violent delinquency when measured longitudinally. Additional analyses using inverse probability of treatment weights reaffirmed these conclusions. Aggr. Behav. 36:437–451, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Preventing Violence among Gang-Involved and High-Risk Youth in El Salvador: The Role of School Motivation and Self-Control

El Salvador, as a country of the Northern Triangle, exhibits significantly higher rates of crime and delinquency than the rest of the Latin American countries (World Bank 2011). Mass media portray transnational youth gangs in marginalized communities in Central American nations, such as El Salvador, as one of the main factors responsible for the high levels of violence. Few studies have empirically studied active youth gang members and high-risk youth in these contexts. Among the studies that have accessed active youth gang members, the focus has been on problem behaviors and risk factors analyses; little is known about what variables appear to serve as protective factors for these youth. Based on a cross-sectional sample of high-risk youth and youth gang members (n = 184) between the ages of 13 and 25 living in 10 urban communities in San Salvador, this study used linear regression modeling to analyze protective factors for three outcome variables: aggression, violence, and delinquency. Results reveal that self-control and school motivation act as important protective factors across the three domains, while school behavior is a protective factor of aggression and delinquency. Implications for community-based prevention and harm reduction policies are discussed.     

Are obsessive-compulsive tendencies related to reliance on external proxies for internal states? Evidence from biofeedback-aided relaxation studies

This article presents two studies that examine the hypothesis that obsessive-compulsive (OC) tendencies are associated with a general deficiency in subjective conviction, which leads to seeking and reliance on external proxies to compensate for that deficiency. We examined this hypothesis using a biofeedback-aided relaxation procedure. In Study 1 low OC participants performed better on a relaxation task than high OC participants. More importantly, viewing the biofeedback monitor (an external proxy for the internal state of relaxation) had a different effect on the two groups: Whereas high OC participants performed better, low OC participants did not. In addition, when given the opportunity, high OC participants requested the biofeedback monitor more than did the low OC participants. In Study 2 high OC participants were more affected by false biofeedback when judging their level of relaxation compared to low OC participants. Real relaxation level differences between the two false biofeedback phases among the two groups were not found. These results provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that obsessive-compulsive disorder is associated with deficient subjective conviction in internal states and increased reliance on external proxies. Implications for the understanding of OCD-related rules and rituals as well as for cognitive therapy for OCD are discussed.     

Slacking Off or Winding Down? An Experience Sampling Study on the Drivers and Consequences of Media Use for Recovery Versus Procrastination

Today's constant availability of media content provides users with various recreational resources. It may also challenge self‐control, however, once media exposure conflicts with other goals and obligations. How media users deal with these self‐regulatory chances and risks in their daily lives is largely unknown. Our study addressed the predictors and consequences of recreational and procrastinatory media use using experience sampling methodology (N = 215; 1,094 media use episodes). Results suggest that trait (self‐control, performance goal orientation) as well as state variables (exhaustion) are significant predictors of media use for recovery versus procrastination. Whereas recreational media use showed a positive effect on entertainment, which in turn enhanced subjective well‐being, negative self‐evaluation elicited by procrastinatory media use negatively affected well‐being.     

Risk Behaviors Among Young Mexican American Gang-Associated Females: Sexual Relations, Partying, Substance Use, and Crime

This research focuses on young Mexican American girls who are not formal gang members yet participate in street-based activities of male gangs and engage in risk behaviors. These females comprise a larger proportion associated with male gangs in inner-city neighborhoods than actual female gang members. Using a qualitative design, the article presents a typology of Mexican American females that reveals a hierarchy based on exposure to four risk-related activities: sexual relations, partying, substance use, and crime. Findings illustrate how outcomes associated with these activities vary according to the girl's relationship to the male gang and status within the community. Also, regardless of their relationship to the gang, participation in these activities resulted in different degrees of negative outcomes. The study concludes that problems associated with these females must go beyond being viewed as individual problems but rather seen within the social, cultural, and economic conditions of their environment.     

The family relations,peer relations,and criminal activities of Caucasian and Hispanic-American gang members

Juvenile gang members present serious problems to society, yet few empirical studies have examined their criminal activity, family relations, and peer relations in comparison with other highly antisocial youths. In a 2 (Gang Membership) × 2 (Ethnicity: Hispanic-American vs. Caucasian) design, 131 incarcerated male juvenile offenders were administered a battery assessing criminal activity, family relations, and peer relations. Results demonstrated (a) higher rates of criminal behavior (i.e., general delinquency, index offenses, school delinquency) among gang members than among offenders who did not belong to gangs, (b) higher rates of general delinquency and home delinquency among Caucasian offenders than among Hispanic-American offenders, and (c) greater aggression and less social maturity in the peer relations of gang members than in the peer relations of offenders who did not belong to gangs. In addition, gang membership mediated sociocultural differences in hard drug use. Findings are integrated with the extant literature.The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance and advice of Dr. Michael Schumacher, the Honorable C. Robert Jameson, Gwen Kurz, Don Hallstrom, Jane Carmichael, and Drs. Malcolm Klein, Rae Newton, and James Madero.     

Juggalos - Whoop! Whoop! A Family or A Gang? A Participant-Observation Study on an FBI Defined ‘Hybrid’ Gang

ABSTRACT

This study examines the Juggalos and their controversial gang designation as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Juggalos are devoted fans of the music group Insane Clown Posse, but law enforcement officials have identified Juggalos as a “hybrid” gang. A participant observation study was conducted in the fall of 2017 during the Juggalo March in Washington D.C. This protest rally was a response to challenge the gang classification and demonstrate to others that Juggalos are “a family and not a gang.” The authors observed Juggalo behaviors that were not consistent with a gang; but rather consistent with the characteristics of identifying a gang, as well as behaviors that were deviant.     

SEXUAL ABERRATION OR INSTINCTUAL VICISSITUDE? REVISITING FREUD'S “THE SEXUAL ABERRATIONS”

The author reconsiders Freud's “The Sexual Aberrations,” the first of his Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905), in light of contemporary psychoanalytic theory. Are the concepts of sexual aberration and norm still viable? The author argues that they are necessary but insufficient elements in current theory. He then presents a competing model in which sexuality can be reduced to a more elemental level of disturbance and wish, where it is an expression of a nonsexual wish—for example, to possess or control the object to eliminate separateness. The author presents clinical material to demonstrate this alternative model.     

Puerto Rican Gangs: A Historical Overview

This article presents the problem of gangs on the island of Puerto Rico from a historical, economical, and political perspective. Some Puerto Rican historians are convinced that the gang problem in Puerto Rico is due to the political ambiguity and human rights violations of prison inmates (F. Picò, 1998).     

Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Young Children: An Intervention Model and Case Series

This article presents an intervention model for young children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The intervention, designed to reduce compulsive behavior and improve parenting practices, was tested using a multiple baseline design with 7 children (M = 6 years old; 57% female) in which participants were randomly assigned to 1, 2, or 3 weeks of baseline (i.e., no treatment). All children were diagnosed with OCD using a semi-structured diagnostic interview. Baseline and weekly ratings of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms and family accommodation were obtained. In addition, at pre- and post-treatment and 1-month follow-up, independent evaluators and/or parents completed measures assessing the severity and impact of OC symptoms and child and family functioning. Findings revealed that participants had a 33–66% reduction in OC symptoms (as measured by the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale; CYBOCS) at posttreatment and 6 of the 7 children were rated as treatment responders on the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) Scale. At the 1-month follow-up, participants had a 17–82% reduction in OC symptoms. Treatment was also effective in reducing parental accommodation of child OC behaviors. Overall treatment satisfaction was high and parents found most core treatment ingredients (e.g., psychoeducation, exposure and ritual prevention, contingency management) very helpful. Implications for further developing and testing psychosocial treatments for young children are discussed.     

Rethinking the Mechanisms of Gang Desistance in a Developing Country

ABSTRACT

Most academic literature is based on experiences of gang members in developed countries. This article explores the mechanisms of desistance among street gangs in El Salvador. Gangs in this Central American nation, which include MS-13 and the 18^th Street gang, are known for complex structures and their transnational reach. Based on a survey with nearly 1,200 gang members and former gang members in El Salvador and 24 in-depth interviews with former gang members in rehabilitation programs, this study finds that the characteristics of the gang organization play a more significant role in the ways individuals exit the gangs in extremely violent contexts. It also shows that a religious experience is the most frequent mechanism to leave the group because it provides a safer alternative in those contexts.     

Receipt of a False Positive Test Result During Routine Screening for Ovarian Cancer: A Teachable Moment?

The term "teachable moment" (TM) has been used to describe a life transition or event which motivates an individual to change a behavior or presents an opportunity to intervene to prompt behavior change. We examined whether receipt of a false positive ovarian cancer (OC) screening result may represent a TM. 403 women participating in an OC screening program completed questionnaires assessing demographic, clinical, behavioral, and psychosocial information. The TM was operationalized as expressed interest in receiving health-related information. We hypothesized that among women receiving a false positive screening test result, those women who had experienced greater personal perceived risk for OC as well as distress would be more interested in receiving health-related information than women receiving a normal result. Analyses revealed that women receiving a false positive screening result were less interested in receiving health-related information than women receiving a normal screening result. For women receiving a false positive result, expressed interest in receipt of health-related information was only modestly related to distress and related even less to perceptions of OC risk. Our data do not support viewing a false positive OC screening result as a TM. Potential explanations for the current findings as well as recommendations for future research investigating the TM are discussed.     

Obsessive compulsive features predict cautious decision strategies

Introduction: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is occasionally characterized by decision-making deficits. Compared to the isolated analysis of the choice and response times, characterizing decision outputs at the level of latent processes can be a more powerful approach in revealing differences, even in subclinical cases. We hypothesized that participants with higher obsessive compulsive (OC) features would set their decision thresholds higher and thus make more cautious decisions. Method: We used a perceptual two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) task (dot motion discrimination) to test this hypothesis in a non-clinical sample (N?=?74). We fitted the data with the diffusion model and evaluated the optimality of decision outputs. We also conducted exploratory analyses to reveal which subscales best predicted the differences at the level of latent decision processes. Results: Higher OC total scores in Maudsley and Padua scales significantly predicted higher threshold settings (cautiousness). The follow-up exploratory analyses with subscale scores showed that checking and rumination tendencies predicted higher threshold settings whereas washing tendency predicted faster non-decision times. Conclusions: Our primary results showed that participants with higher degrees of OC features exhibit more cautious decision making. Our exploratory analyses also revealed distinctions based on different types of OC features in both controlled (cautiousness in decision making) and automatic (faster non-decision times) elements of the decision process.     

Neighborhood Physical Environments,Recreational Wellbeing,and Psychological Health

The physical environment in which individuals live has important implications for their access to resources and services. The current study examined the role of several features of neighborhoods, such as perceived walkability and neighborhood appearance, in promoting recreational wellbeing, and resulting in impacts on physical wellbeing, happiness, and life satisfaction of residents. Survey responses (N = 1392) were collected in two distinct geographical areas and, using structural equation modeling, relationships between neighborhood physical environments and resident outcomes were explored. Results indicated perceived walkability (access to services) and neighborhood appearance (upkeep and attractiveness) played a significant role in increasing recreational wellbeing. Also, recreational wellbeing was positively related to individuals’ physical wellbeing. Lastly, physical wellbeing was positively associated with happiness and life satisfaction. Together, these findings suggest community planners could use several practical neighborhood improvements to improve the overall health, happiness, and life satisfaction of their residents.

     

The relationship between dimensional self-concept and juvenile gang involvement: implications for prevention,intervention, and court referred diversion programs

In this investigation we assessed 427 youths from an area with considerable gang activity to determine the way in which self-concept is related to gang involvement, and to assess how gang involvement fluctuates as a function of gender and grade level. Product moment correlations revealed a significant negative association between gang involvement and the self-concept dimensions of competence, affect, academic, family, and global; however, only the relationship with competence self-concept remained significant after adjusting for alpha inflation. Discriminant analysis revealed a significant predictive relationship between self-concept and classifi-cation into high or low gang-involved groups. Males were found to be significantly more gang involved than females, but no differences were found by grade level (although a significant gender by grade interaction was present). Implications for field-based prevention/intervention efforts and court referred diversion programs are discussed. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.