Mounting evidence suggests that social media can exacerbate tensions among gangs that ultimately lead to violence, but serious questions remain about precisely how conflict online translates to conflict offline. The purpose of this study is to examine the ways in which gang violence can be mediated by the Internet. We conducted a sociolinguistic…

Youth living in violent urban neighborhoods increasingly post messages online from urban street corners. The decline of the digital divide and the proliferation of social media platforms connect youth to peer communities who may share experiences with neighborhood stress and trauma. Social media can also be used for targeted retribution when…

For researchers interested in how pedagogy within schools can be used as a catalyst for adolescent moral development, investigating practitioner-based studies of classroom practices that support the growth of prosocial behaviors is crucial. This paper delineates a qualitative study conducted in an ethnically diverse high school language arts…

Chicago has long struggled with racial residential segregation, high rates of poverty, and deepening class stratification, and it can be a challenging place for adolescents to grow up. "Unequal City" examines the ways in which Chicago's most vulnerable residents navigate their neighborhoods, life opportunities, and encounters with the…

Reports preliminary evidence on an innovative approach to gang violence which relies on community mobilization, social intervention, suppression, opportunities provision, organizational development, and targeting. Describes program processes and outcomes. The project involved teams of community youth workers, tactical police officers, adult…

IN THIS STUDY, THE AUTHORS EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUTHS AND THOSE ADULTS WHO MAY GUIDE THEM IN THE VALUES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF THE ADULT WORLD. IT IS ONE OF A SERIES OF FOUR STUDIES BASED ON THE CHICAGO STUDY. "STREET CORNER GROUPS AND PATTERNS OF DELINQUENCY." ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT BOYS WERE TAKEN FROM THE POPULATION OF…

Among Black adolescents in Chicago, Illinois, gang recruiting was more prevalent in depressed communities and was targeted primarily at veteran delinquents. Gang members exhibited higher interpersonal self-confidence but lower societal self-confidence than gang recruits, and members appeared to be less attached to school and have less parental…

An examination of the incidence of eight activities believed to be associated with gang membership indicates different patterns of gang involvement for urban Black and Hispanic males. The following activities are examined: (1) perceived advantage in gang membership; (2) hanging out where gang members hang out; (3) having friends identified as gang…

THE HORNER BOYS CLUB IN CHICAGO REACHES OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND HELPS CHANNEL GANG MEMBERS INTO A CLUB SITUATION WITH CONSTRUCTIVE FORMS OF ACTIVITY. IN LOS ANGELES, A DEPUTY PROBATION OFFICER ORGANIZED A SERVICE CALLED GROUP GUIDANCE IN WHICH PROBATION OFFICERS WORK WITH THE HARD-CORE CITY GANGS THAT ARE NOT HANDLED BY CONVENTIONAL…

Ethnographic data from a black middle-class Chicago neighborhood indicate that dense social networks fostered by residential stability facilitate informal supervision of neighborhood youth and enhance formal crime-prevention activities. Nevertheless, inclusion of gang members and drug dealers in networks of law-abiding kin and neighbors thwarts…

The Chicago Youth Development Project was an action-research program jointly undertaken by the Chicago Boys Club and the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research to test whether a program of aggressive street work and community organization in the core of a city could reduce delinquency among youth living there. The report presents a…