Discuss the anomie/alienation view of why youth join gangs. Do you agree or disagree with this theory? Explain

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• According to this view, conditions of anomie/alienation encourage gang formation on both a cultural and individual level. On a cultural level, youths are encouraged to join gangs during periods of social, economic, and cultural turmoil.
• Immigration or emigration, rapidly expanding or contracting populations, and the incursion of different racial/ethnic groups, or even different segments or generations of the same racial/ethnic population, can create fragmented communities and gang problems.
• Historically, gangs formed during the Russian Revolution of 1917 and after the crumbling of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. The rise of right-wing youth gangs in Germany is associated with the unification of East and West Germany. Skinhead groups have formed in Germany in response to immigration from Turkey and North Africa.
• In the United States, gangs have formed in areas where rapid change has unsettled communities. The gangs and militia groups in present day Iraq may have formed as a response to the upheaval in that society.
• On an individual level, gang membership has appeal to adolescents who are alienated from the mainstream of society.
• Student views will vary.