Youth gangs in international perspective : results from the Eurogang Program of Research

As a steady source of juvenile delinquents and an incubator for future adult offenders, the youth gang has long been a focus of attention, from their origins and prevalence to intervention and prevention strategies. But while delinquent youth form gangs worldwide, youth gang research has generally focused on the U.S. __Youth Gangs in International Perspective__ provides a needed corrective by offering significant studies from across Europe, as well as Trinidad-Tobago and Israel. The book spans the diversity of the field in the cultural and scholarly traditions represented and methods used, analyzing not only the social processes under which gangs operate and cohere, but also the evolution of the research base, starting with the Eurogang Program’s definition of the term __youth gang__. Cross-national and gender issues are discussed, as are measurement concerns and the possibility that the American conception of the youth gang is impeding European understanding of these groups. Among the topics covered: * Gang dynamics through the lens of social identity theory. * Defining gangs in youth correctional settings. * Gang gender composition and youth delinquency. * From Stockholm: a holistic approach to gang intervention. * Gang membership as a turning point in the life course. * The impact of globalization, immigration, and social process on neo-Nazi youth gangs. Filling a critical gap in the literature, __Youth Gangs in International Perspective__ will find a wide audience among criminologists, policymakers specializing in youth crime, and researchers and graduate students in criminology, political science, and youth studies. Front Matter....Pages i-x The Eurogang Program of Research and Multimethod Comparative Gang Research: Introduction....Pages 1-14 Front Matter....Pages 15-15 Putting the “Gang” in “Eurogang”: Characteristics of Delinquent Youth Groups by Different Definitional Approaches....Pages 17-33 Counting Gangs: Conceptual and Validity Problems with the Eurogang Definition....Pages 35-51 Gang Member: Who Says? Definitional and Structural Issues....Pages 53-68 Five Decades of Defining Gangs in The Netherlands: The Eurogang Paradox in Practice....Pages 69-83 Gang Organization, Offending, and Victimization: A Cross-National Analysis....Pages 85-105 Betwixt and Between Street and Prison Gangs: Defining Gangs and Structures in Youth Correctional Facilities....Pages 107-124 Front Matter....Pages 125-125 Gang Dynamics Through the Lens of Social Identity Theory....Pages 127-149 Gang Membership: The Psychological Evidence....Pages 151-168 The Onset of (Euro)Gang Membership as a Turning Point in the Life Course....Pages 169-187 The Sex Composition of Groups and Youths’ Delinquency: A Comparison of Gang and Nongang Peer Groups....Pages 189-210 The Impact of Globalization, Migration, and Social Group Processes on Neo-Nazi Youth Gangs....Pages 211-223 Typically Moroccan? A Group Dynamic Explanation of Nuisance and Criminal Behavior....Pages 225-236 Front Matter....Pages 237-237 The Danish Gang-Joining Project: Methodological Issues and Preliminary Results....Pages 239-250 The Stockholm Gang Intervention and Prevention Project (SGIP): Introducing a Holistic Approach to Gang Enforcement....Pages 251-269 Are the Correlates and Effects of Gang Membership Sex-Specific? Troublesome Youth Groups and Delinquency Among Dutch Girls....Pages 271-287 Front Matter....Pages 289-289 The Next Decade of Eurogang Program Research....Pages 291-301 The Intersection of Gang Definition and Group Process: Concluding Observations....Pages 303-315 Back Matter....Pages 317-319 This volume provides a rare look into youth gangs on a global scale. Topics include definition and measurement issues, group processes of gangs, and gang research in a number of European countries.