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Citation |
Bankston CL. Aggress. Violent Behav. 1998; 3(1): 35-46. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 1998, Elsevier Publishing) |
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DOI |
unavailable |
PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
Changes in American immigration law in 1965 led to an enormous increase in the number of immigrants arriving in the United States and to a shift in the countries of origin of American immigrants from Europe to Central and South America and Asia. The children of this new wave of immigrants have been labeled "the new second generation." At the same time that these children have grown to adolescence and young adulthood, violent youth gangs have become a prominent aspect of American life. While the children of immigrants are not the only participants in gang activity, many gangs have appeared in neighborhoods where immigrants have settled, and these gangs are often based on the ethnic identities of post-1965 immigrant groups. This essay discusses general theoretical trends in the literature relating to youth gangs in the post-1965 immigrant ethnic groups. It suggests that these trends may be classified as opportunity structure approaches, cultural approaches, and social disorganization approaches. The essay points out some of the major questions this literature raises or fails to address, and it suggests directions for the conceptualization of new ethnic gangs and for empirical research in this area. (Abstract Adapted from Source: Aggression and Violent Behavior, 1998. Copyright © 1998 by Elsevier Science) |