Any of them will do: In-group identification, out-group entitativity, and gang membership as predictors of group based retribution

Members of street gangs can engage in group-based or vicarious retribution, which occurs when a member of a group aggresses against out-group members in retaliation for a previous attack against the in-group, even if the avenging person was not victimized and the targets of revenge were not directly involved in the original attack. In non-gang populations, the degree of identification with an in-group and perceptions of out-group entitativity, the perception of an out-group as bonded or unified, are important contributors to group-based aggression. The link between these factors and group-based aggression, however, has not been examined in the context of street gangs. The current study assessed the relationship among in-group identification, perceptions of out-group entitativity, and the willingness to retaliate against members of rival groups who did not themselves attack the in-group among juvenile gang and non-gang members in London. Our results showed the predicted membership (gang/non-gang) x in-group identification x entitativity interaction. Decomposition of the three-way interaction by membership revealed a significant identification x entitativity interaction for gang, but not for non-gang members. More specifically, gang members who identify more strongly with their gang and perceived a rival group as high on entitativity were more willing to retaliate against any of them. In addition, entitativity was a significant predictor of group-based aggression after controlling for gender, in-group identification, and gang membership. Our results are consistent with socio-psychological theories of group-based aggression and support the proposal that such theories are applicable for understanding gang-related violence.