Street gang theory and research: Where are we now and where do we go from here?

Wood, J.L. and Alleyne, E.K.A. (2010) Street gang theory and research: Where are we now and where do we go from here? Aggression and Violent Behavior., 15 (2). pp. 100-111. ISSN 1359-1789.

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Official URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2009.08.005

Abstract

Recent years have seen an upsurge of attention paid to street gangs as scholars and criminal justice officials strive to understand and counteract the effects of gang membership. Yet, despite a wealth of theoretical frameworks and empirical findings, even fundamental issues such as an agreed definition continue to elude us. We consider some of the most influential theoretical frameworks and associated empirical findings and find that as it stands, our knowledge on gangs is still limited and rather muddy. We suggest that future directions should adopt a more multidisciplinary approach to the study of gangs. To this end, we argue that there is a role for psychology in this important body of work, and that its involvement will provide us with a deeper and more meaningful understanding of gangs and the youth who join them.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled keywords:	Gangs Theory Empirical research Psychology
Subjects:	H Social Sciences H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare > HV9069 Delinquency studies
Divisions:	Faculties > Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User:	Jane Wood
Date Deposited:	04 Dec 2009 15:41
Last Modified:	06 Sep 2011 04:26
Resource URI:	http://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/22858 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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