Sociology 2267A/B Study Guide - Restorative Justice, Social Learning Theory, Differential Association
Document Summary
Predictors of youth gang membership include: social class, family structure, education, career aspirations, age, race and ethnicity. Gangs are differentiated by multiple criteria including age, ethnicity, gender, type of activity, the degree of criminality, level of organization, function/purpose, and region. Working class gangs like the skin heads in the ukwhite middle class youth, diverted to working-class skinhead ideology by heavy metal, white power ideology etc. Hybrid gangs: may/may not have allegiance to a particular gang colour; often adopt the symbols of larger groups; change affiliation/claim many affiliations. Theory: empirical research points to the fact that the single most important predictor of delinquency is interaction with delinquent friends in the formative adolescent years. Sutherland & ackers: explanations of the relationship btwn peer interaction and youth crime are offered in the various explanations of sutherland"s differential association theory and acker"s social learning theory.
