Rethinking How We View Gang Members: An Examination into Affective, Behavioral, and Mental Health Predictors of UK Gang-Involved Youth

Frisby-Osman, Sarah; Wood, Jane L.

doi:10.1177/1473225419893779

Cited by 18 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Family members can act as either a risk or protective factor for gang involvement, directly through membership but equally through parenting style and supervision (Aldridge et al , 2012). Gang membership is also associated with negative psychological traits, such as higher levels of mood disorders, rumination (Frisby-Osman and Wood, 2020), lack of impulse control and higher levels of psychopathy (Ashton et al , 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer groups, street gangs and organised crime in the narratives of adolescent male offenders

Ashton

Bussu

2020

JCP

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how young people who offend with others define delinquent and criminal groups and consider the social risk factors associated with gang membership and criminal exploitation. Design/methodology/approach The sample consisted of 15 young people who were purposively sampled from a group of 14- to 17-year-old males who had been identified as at risk of gang involvement and referred to a community-based programme. Using a social identity framework, a thematic analysis was undertaken to investigate how the participants viewed their role in offending as part of a group. Findings The participants identified peer groups, street gangs and the involvement of adult criminals as distinct categories of offending groups. Unlike prior models for gang involvement, some members of the sample were involved in multiple groups to perform different categories of crime. Importantly, participants displayed an awareness of exploitation and described successful exit strategies from criminal groups. Research limitations/implications Understanding how young people who are involved in delinquent behaviour and offending define gang and group offending. Practical implications The implications for gang and group offending prevention and intervention programmes are discussed. Originality/value The literature on child criminal exploitation and UK drug markets is in its infancy. This paper offers further evidence for the processes of joining and leaving delinquent and criminal groups.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer groups, street gangs and organised crime in the narratives of adolescent male offenders

Ashton

Bussu

2020

JCP

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“…In contrast to fear of crime theory (Erčulj, 2021), despite being potentially more vulnerable to knife crime, they did not describe being more fearful; they reported being desensitised towards it. Thus, the interplay of different experiential, environmental, personal and socio-cultural factors may further contribute towards the perceived negative impact of using knife seizure images as a deterrent (Frisby-Osman & Wood, 2020;Leober & Farrington, 2011). The mechanisms by which young people perceive their living environments include primary sources, such as personal experiences with crime, and secondary sources, such as local gossip about antisocial behaviour and crime within the community (Burcar, 2013;Holligan et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are images of seized knives an effective crime deterrent? A comparative thematic analysis of young people’s views within the Scottish context

Cogan¹,

Chau²,

Russell³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The urgency to reduce knife carrying has been recognised by police services within Scotland and has been addressed by initiatives such as the sharing of knife seizure images on media outlets. This study sought to explore young peoples’ views on the use of knife seizure images as a deterrent to carrying knives by using comparative individual interviews (N = 20) with photo elicitation. Three themes were discovered: (1) negative reactions towards images of seized knives, (2) images of knives may encourage rather than deter knife carrying, and (3) reinforcement of existing beliefs, stereotypes and stigma. These findings highlight the limitations of using knife seizure images as a deterrent and the importance of involving young people in developing preventative and non-discriminatory approaches to tackling knife crime.

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“…The NCGR has identified that a holistic understanding of the threat, risk and vulnerability is crucial in informing how criminal justice systems develop gang intervention strategies. The cause-and-effect relationship between behavioral disorders and gang involvement remains disparate, and the social risk factors for gang involvement are multi-faceted (Frisby-Osman and Wood, 2020; Pyle et al , 2020). This study explores how recognizing patterns of offending might aid in identifying particularly challenging mental health profiles in young people whose offending is not limited to within a group or gang.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is an increased prevalence of conduct disorder (CD) among gang-affiliated youth (Livanou et al , 2019; Frisby-Osman and Wood, 2020). CD is recognized as having strong causal links to other psychiatric comorbidities (Fairchild et al , 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…CD is recognized as having strong causal links to other psychiatric comorbidities (Fairchild et al , 2019). Much of the research into adolescent delinquency has focused on three distinct areas: development (both social and neurodevelopmental) of antisocial behavior, the risk factors at which age that cause this behavior to increase or lessen and the impact of various life events on a person’s criminal life course (Frisby-Osman and Wood, 2020; Fairchild et al , 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Offending patterns – alone or in a group – and severe conduct problems: secondary analysis of cross-sectional questionnaire data

Gilbert

Padmore

Norman

2020

JACPR

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Purpose This study aims to builds upon the hypothesis that “gang” offenders have greater mental health vulnerabilities than both the offender and the general population. This study aims to determine whether there is a difference between the mental health difficulties experienced by young people who may be committing offenses or who may be non-offenders while exploring the interplay of conduct disorder (CD). Design/methodology/approach Secondary data analysis was conducted of a cross-sectional survey of 449 young people in two secondary schools and the data was compared to the scores on the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ). A diagnosis of CD was given to the respondents scoring “abnormal” for conduct on the SDQ and the findings were compared to the total difficulties score of those without a diagnosis of CD. Findings Those committing offenses both alone and within a group setting had significantly higher scores across all domains of the SDQ, indicating the prevalence of inattention and hyperactivity, emotional problems, lower prosocial behaviors and peer problems over other offending groups. The total difficulties scores on the SDQ were significantly higher for the offending groups that had a diagnosis of CD. Originality/value The results suggest that offending patterns are included within the screening for CD subtypes and support the need for further research into tailored interventions that involve multi-agency collaboration. This research offers a new approach to the identification of severe CD with callous and unemotional traits by examining offensive behavior.

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Rethinking How We View Gang Members: An Examination into Affective, Behavioral, and Mental Health Predictors of UK Gang-Involved Youth

Cited by 18 publications

References 72 publications

Peer groups, street gangs and organised crime in the narratives of adolescent male offenders

Peer groups, street gangs and organised crime in the narratives of adolescent male offenders

Are images of seized knives an effective crime deterrent? A comparative thematic analysis of young people’s views within the Scottish context

Offending patterns – alone or in a group – and severe conduct problems: secondary analysis of cross-sectional questionnaire data

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