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Motivated by recent advances in the study of disengagement from street gangs, this research develops a theoretical framework of enduring gang membership based on gang organization and gang identity. Using multivariate data, this research tests the theoretical framework against a competing theory derived from the general theory of crime w...
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... In other words, the more individuals identified with their gangs, the stronger their connections to the gang's normative expectations and thus a greater likelihood that they engaged in criminal activity and violence-so much so that they were less likely to be deterred by concerns of police apprehension and punishment when compared to individuals in other neighborhood peer groups. Additionally, using measures of social identity, Leverso and Matsueda (2019) found that one's degree of gang identity (i.e., awareness of group membership, self-esteem, and affective commitment to the gang) was a significant contributor to gang persistence (i.e., decreased rate of leaving), even after accounting for self-control and prior offending and victimization. ...
... As noted earlier, scholars have prioritized these identity mechanisms and revealed the very real impact that gang identity can have on various outcomes, including criminal and violent conduct as well as sustained membership (Hennigan and Spanovich 2012; Leverso and Matsueda 2019). Both studies measured social identity by using Luhtanen and Crocker's (1992) subscale of collective self-esteem (e.g., "The [group] is an important reflection of who I am, " "In general, belonging to [the group] is an important part of my self-image"), with Leverso and Matsueda (2019) furthering this inquiry by including additional items that tap into gang identity (e.g., "Being in the gang makes me feel important, " "Being in the gang makes me feel like I really belong somewhere"). ...
While identity—the social meanings attached to a role—has been documented across various aspects of gang life, examinations of identity have rarely extended beyond “being” a gang member. Exacerbating this is the relative absence of symbolic interactionism in the study of gangs. Thus, a more useful approach is to view gang identity as a situational resource for performance. Conceptualized in this way, the chapter encourages scholars to reimagine how gang identity is managed and what factors facilitate and discourage the “doing” of gang identity. Advancing a “soft” or dynamic version of gang identity presents new avenues for future research and provides practical considerations for understanding gang membership among scholars and practitioners alike. As such, this chapter reviews the importance of gang identity across the life course and concludes with suggestions for future research and practice.
... More recently, researchers have sought to interrogate the consequences of the intensity and durability of trajectories of gang membership. For example, longitudinal studies have shown that gang embeddedness and identity, as well as prolonged membership in a gang, are associated with higher levels of criminal offending (Leverso & Matsueda 2019, Melde & Esbensen 2014, Sweeten et al. 2013. In other words, it is not just whether someone is a member or not but their exposure to the gang that matters. ...
... As critical criminologists keenly point out (e.g., Fraser 2017), gang members may be involved in crime, but this is not all they do; a linked-lives perspective can tap this by exploring the noncriminal, everyday aspects of gang life and the lives they share with their nongang counterparts. Gangs serve a variety of intertwined and interconnected functions for their members, providing social support, a sense of identity and belonging (Leverso & Matsueda 2019), and resistance against the very social institutions that too often fail them (Brotherton 2015, Durán 2013. By searching beyond crime, therefore, researchers may better discover the duality of the gang, including the benefits it affords as well as a host of other economic, psychological, and social consequences. ...
... To this end, more research is needed to realize the vast potential of the linked-lives approach for documenting how gang members' social networks expand, contract, overlap, and interact before, during, and after gang membership. The gang provides a sense of belonging and identity that can be difficult to find elsewhere (Leverso & Matsueda 2019), but further research is needed to unpack the alleged capital gains of gang membership. Research shows that individuals in gangs often share similar experiences and life transitions, but how, if at all, gang members provide mentorship, emotional support, and guidance to one another as they navigate these changes is an open question, especially when we know that membership within a closed, delinquent network can be limiting, knifing off prosocial connections with the broader community (Thornberry et al. 2003). ...
For more than three decades, developmental and life-course criminology has been a source of theoretical advancement, methodological innovation, and policy and practice guidance, bringing breadth and depth even to well-established areas of study, such as gangs. This review demonstrates how the developmental and life-course perspective on gangs can be further extended and better integrated within broader developments in criminology. Accordingly, we structure this review within the fourfold paradigm on human development that unites seemingly disparate areas in the study of gangs: (a) historical time and place, or the foregrounding of when and where you are; (b) linked lives, or the importance of dynamic multiplex relationships; (c) timing, or the age-grading of trajectories and transitions; and (d) human agency, or taking choice seriously. We conclude by outlining a vision that charts new directions to be addressed by the next generation of scholarship on gangs.
... They provide support and belonging for young people who have weak relationships with family and friends (De Vito, 2020). Engaging in criminal activity is not only tolerated in a gang but becomes a group norm, providing cohesion and unity through shared risks, loyalty, and secrecy (Leverso & Matsueda, 2019). The gang provides an individual with more than just an outlet for criminal behaviours; it offers protection, social support, excitement, and the opportunity for power (Sandhu, 2020). ...
... The result of this project was the development of a theoretical framework for explaining the evolving standards of masculinity-which we termed "masculinity maturation"-among gang members as they grew older (Leverso & Hess, 2021). The second project analyzed secondary data from the Denver Youth Survey to investigate the impacts of gang identity and organizational structure on the stability of gang membership (Leverso & Matsueda, 2019). ...
Positionality is an important consideration when carrying out research. An effective tool for understanding this process is reflexivity—a continual dialogue that explores the interplay between our identities and how data is collected, analyzed, and interpreted. These reflexive accounts have been used in various disciplines, including criminal justice and criminology. In advancing this important practice, we offer insight into our experiences studying a hard-to-reach population: gangs. Specifically, we document how our insider and outsider identities, as well as the space between facilitated access, were used strategically and informed our interpretations of data. We conclude by encouraging reflexivity within criminology broadly and specifically among scholars who study hard-to-reach populations like street gangs.
... 3 Membership is temporary, primarily as defense against the predatory prison gangs (Gundur 2018;Tapia 2013). And although gangs on the street and in prison are not one in the same, there is evidence indicating the organizational structure of gangs is associated with prolonged membership (Cruz and Rosen 2020;Melde, Diem, and Drake 2012;Leverso and Matsueda 2019). In sum, this leads to a third hypothesis: ...
... As critical criminologists keenly point out (e.g., Fraser 2017), gang members may be involved in crime, but this is not all they do; a linked-lives perspective can tap this by exploring the noncriminal, everyday aspects of gang life and the lives they share with their nongang counterparts. Gangs serve a variety of intertwined and interconnected functions for their members, providing social support, a sense of identity and belonging (Leverso & Matsueda 2019), and resistance against the very social institutions that too often fail them (Brotherton 2015, Durán 2013. By searching beyond crime, therefore, researchers may better discover the duality of the gang, including the benefits it affords as well as a host of other economic, psychological, and social consequences. ...
... To this end, more research is needed to realize the vast potential of the linked-lives approach for documenting how gang members' social networks expand, contract, overlap, and interact before, during, and after gang membership. The gang provides a sense of belonging and identity that can be difficult to find elsewhere (Leverso & Matsueda 2019), but further research is needed to unpack the alleged capital gains of gang membership. Research shows that individuals in gangs often share similar experiences and life transitions, but how, if at all, gang members provide mentorship, emotional support, and guidance to one another as they navigate these changes is an open question. ...
For more than three decades, developmental and life-course criminology has been a source of theoretical advancement, methodological innovation, and policy and practice guidance, bringing breadth and depth even to well-established areas of study, such as gangs. This review demonstrates how the developmental and life-course perspective on gangs can be further extended and better integrated within broader developments in criminology. Accordingly, we structure this review within the fourfold paradigm on human development that unites seemingly disparate areas in the study of gangs: ( a) historical time and place, or the foregrounding of when and where you are; ( b) linked lives, or the importance of dynamic multiplex relationships; ( c) timing, or the age-grading of trajectories and transitions; and ( d) human agency, or taking choice seriously. We conclude by outlining a vision that charts new directions to be addressed by the next generation of scholarship on gangs.
Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Criminology, Volume 7 is January 2024. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
... Relatedly, Thornberry and associates (2003) found that gang members who experienced greater levels of familial disadvantage (e.g., lower socioeconomic status and parental educational attainment) had lengthier involvements. Studies have also indicated that black, Hispanic, and male gang members remain involved longer than their white and female counterparts (Leverso & Matsueda, 2019;Pyrooz et al., 2013). ...
... Namely, Pyrooz and colleagues (2013) found that deeply embedded gang members had longer involvements given the constraining forces of gang membership (e.g., cumulative disadvantage, stunt in social and human capital). Furthermore, both Leverso and Matsueda (2019) and Melde and colleagues (2012) found that individuals from more tightly organized gangs (e.g., groups that had leadership positions, initiations, and meetings) had longer memberships than those in loosely structured gangs. Lastly, research suggests that individual factors are also associated with continuity, including low self-control, delinquent and externalizing behaviors (e.g., aggression), victimization, and early dating and drug use (Hill et al., 2001;Melde et al., 2012;Pyrooz et al., 2013;Thornberry et al., 2003). ...
There has been an increased focus on the factors that influence gang continuity given the short- and long-term consequences associated with gang membership. Despite this, Asian gangs—notably the Hmong—have rarely been at the center of these academic inquiries. This is especially troubling given that their cultural and historical profile provides a unique vantage point for assessing how culture, diaspora, and immigration affect social deviance and crime. Considering these empirical gaps, the current study examines the motivations associated with gang persistence by analyzing life history interviews and ethnographic observations among a sample of 34 current and former Hmong gang members in the United States. Emergent themes suggest that brother love, perceptions of power, and a sense of obligation ensnare individuals in gang life for extended periods of time, with notable geographic and cultural distinctions. These findings highlight important avenues for future research and practice.
... 210¹ of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Both of these concepts are of criminological origin and, according to researchers, the signs of the subject of a crime must be determined by criminologists, and this concept can be based on signs that characterize criminal lords (Grishko, 2016;Leverso & Matsueda, 2019). ...
... Cohesion gives a sense of union, solidarity, and solidity within the organization. For example, an objective of gangs is to maintain a sense of camaraderie, belonging, and family (6) . Cohesion is increased by the frequency, intensity, and duration of the inter-activities in the criminal organization (7) . ...
... Of note, three participants reported active involvement in gangs before or during their most recent prison sentence; this was identified as a factor that might influence narratives of identity reconstruction. Common outcomes of gang membership, such as participation in retaliatory acts of violence, may be processes through which strong identification with a gang may confound attempts to construct a new, non-offending identity (Charette & Papachristos, 2017;Leverso & Matsueda, 2019). However, at the time of interview, these three participants had reportedly cut social ties with former gang associates, renounced their gang membership and chosen to reside in a location outside of their former gang territory. ...
In the context of desistance, employment has been described as a contributing factor in the formation of a non-offending identity. The present study examined the lived experiences of adult male ex-offenders who had served a custodial sentence in the United Kingdom (UK), to explore the potential influence of employment as a desistance-promoting factor in the construction of a new, non-offending identity.
Interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied to eight semi-structured interview transcripts, up to twelve months after release from prison, from which five themes emerged.
Findings showed that lawful income through employment is associated with a shift in the values and goals of former prisoners, but only after transformation from an offending identity into a pro-desistance identity had taken place. The early days of prison, soon after induction, were reported as critical to catalyzing identity reconstruction. Once committed to a non-offending identity, desistance was then consolidated by employment and external support.
External support soon after arrival at prison may be useful in helping offenders to develop a non-offending identity. Professionals within the prison service could initiate identity reconstruction strategies in the days immediately following arrival at prison. This was shown to have potential as a key phase of reflection for offenders, which could result in life-changing identity reconstruction.
The findings challenge previous research which suggests that identity change occurs on release from prison, or after sourcing regular employment. The application of identity reconstruction strategies, immediately following arrival at prison, might provide a useful approach when supporting the development of a non-offending identity among adult men serving a custodial sentence.
