American youth do not have equal access to academic success and life achievements. In particular, low-income male students of color are disproportionately failing in school, filling prisons, and enduring the consequences of low social capital and poor investment in their futures. Unfortunately, many young people cope with poverty and life in…

This article reports on one teacher's year-long project seeking to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline through class dialogue around gang affiliations. The review of literature defines the school-to-prison pipeline and its connections to gang affiliation. The study engaged methods of qualitative action research with seven male participants…

Background: Despite high rates of substance use among homeless youths, little is known about the interaction of substance-use risk and protective factors. Further, limited research exists on substance use by school-attending homeless youths, as extant studies have relied on street- and shelter-based samples. Objective: The purpose of this study…

Presents findings from research on Chicano gangs in Los Angeles, which indicates that many gang members do not live in the territory they defend as their "turf." Suggests that the ecological premises of research from the old "Chicago school of sociologists" no longer apply to gangs in modern U. S. cities. (Author/GC)

Violence is a widespread phenomenon in juvenile street culture. But the questions of whether this relationship is a deterministic one, and if not, which are the contributing factors, are largely unanswered. This article focuses on the role of public space, starting with a comparison of the meaning of deviant behavior and crime in street culture in…

Compares the perceptions of 534 adults and 458 secondary school students in Racine (Wisconsin) about gang activity in the community. Finds that adults perceive gangs as formalized, highly organized, structured groups, while youth perceive gangs as more informal, loosely organized, and amorphous groups. (FMW)

Using data gathered from a multi-year field study, this article identifies specific life-course events shared by gang-affiliated women. Gangs emerge as a cultural adaptation or pro-social community response to poverty and racial isolation. Through the use of a social-network approach, data show that violence dramatically increases in the period…

To investigate the extent to which street gangs in Los Angeles (California) are comprised of youth or adults, self-report data from 435 gang members are examined. Findings do not generally support the idea of the aging gang member. Gangs consist primarily of adolescents, regardless of racial and socioeconomic differences. (SLD)