Title: Children and Youth Gangs - Delinquent behavior in juveniles
Headings: Children and youth gangs – delinquent behavior in juveniles
Children and youth gangs – delinquent behavior in juveniles
Shocking statistics of juvenile gangs
Why teens join youth gangs
Involvement in a youth gang is high-risk behavior
Young people involved with gangs are more likely to:

Content: Contrary to common belief, girls also join gangs in large numbers. 40% of all gang members in the U.S. are juveniles – that is around 400,000 teenage gang members. 90,000 boys and 14,000 girls under age of 19 are in some form of correctional facility due to gang affiliation. Why teens join youth gangs
Juveniles join gangs for different reasons, but the most common are: -the need to feel accepted (sense of belonging, protection, security, power, or peer status; gang becomes a family)
-need for protection (to protect themselves or their family members from other gangs in neighborhoods where gangs are way of life)
-need for money (better clothes etc., higher social status, respect from others)
-violent history (being exposed to violence inside their family or gang involvement of family member)
-low self-esteem, psychological disorders (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder – ODD)
Involvement in a youth gang is high-risk behavior
Joining a gang is a high-risk behavior which always has deep and serious consequences. Joining a gang disrupts kids’ normal development and prevents them from future success in many ways. The worst and most obvious risks are violence, injuries, and death. Juveniles who are members of gangs usually carry illegal weapons to either protect themselves or retaliate for real or perceived wrongs done to them or to other gang members.