Bullying and gangs

Rob White; Ron Mason

doi:10.1515/ijamh.2012.008

Article

Bullying and gangs

Rob White and Ron Mason

Published/Copyright: November 29, 2011

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International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health

From the journal Volume 24 Issue 1

Abstract

Background: Although bullying is associated with gangs, questions arise as to whether bullying, as such, takes place within gangs.

Objective: To provide a critical analysis of bullying as this pertains to youth gangs and especially to violence within gangs, and as applied to the behaviour of individual gang members.

Study group: Young men between 12 and 25 years of age.

Methods: Review of relevant literature with a view to theorising the nature of the relationship between bullying and violence within a youth gang context.

Results: Bullying is associated with the reasons why individuals join gangs and with gang-related behaviour, but the violence within a gang is of a different character than that usually described by the term bullying.

Conclusion: Bullying has implications for related and/or subsequent types of street violence, but is less relevant for descriptions of violence within a youth gang context as such.

Keywords: bullying; masculinity; rules of engagement; violence; youth gangs

Corresponding author: Professor Rob White, PhD, School of Sociology and Social Work, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 17, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia

Received: 2011-6-11

Revised: 2011-8-7

Accepted: 2011-8-20

Published Online: 2011-11-29

Published in Print: 2012-03-01

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh.2012.008

Keywords for this article

bullying; masculinity; rules of engagement; violence; youth gangs