Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
References
A. (Ed.). (2014, April 15). Teenagers and Gangs. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/Pages/Teenagers-and-
Gangs.aspx
This website is published by the American Academy of Pediatrics and contains a wide
variety of information about the health of children. This reference is for a specific page
that gives an insightful overlook about the effect of gang membership on the lives of
teenagers. The webpage begins by providing information about the number of gangs
present in the United States and how it fluctuated throughout the 1990s. The percentage
of youth gangs present was declining towards 50% nearing the year 2000. The webpage
also highlights that although gangs are prevalent in large cities, they are both an inner-
city and suburban presence, with some even being present in rural areas. The webpage
also states that the number of female gang members has also increased in recent years.
Following these statistics, the webpage dives into why being in a gang can be dangerous,
especially for teens. Many teens are drawn to gangs due to the want to belong, peer
pressure, and the feeling of rebellion and drama that they believe comes with being in a
gang. The article makes the point that being in a gang does not mean that a teenager
become involved in crime, even saying that many don’t, but that it increases the chances
that they may do so since being in a gang often causes one to act in ways that they
wouldn’t have before due to the sense of security and anonymity. Specifically, the
webpage says older gang members tend to be involved in criminal activity (drug-dealing
in particular). The webpage ends by providing information on changes that may indicate
a teenager has joined a gang and the conditions someone could experience that may make
HOW DOES BEING A MEMBER OF A GANG AFFECT THE WELLBEING OF TEENAGERS?
them more susceptible to gangs. This website appears to be a reliable source due to it
being published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, but it may be slightly outdated
since it was last updated in 2014. The information provided was biased for it took an
opinion that was against gangs (specifically when involved with crime), but did
acknowledge that most gang members are not criminals. The facts provided on the
This webpage fits well into my individual inquiry assignment due to its inclusion of
statistics and insightful information about why teenagers could choose to join a gang. It
included some information about how gang membership could affect a teenager’s future,
but the webpage would be more helpful if it included more. Nonetheless, the information
it does provide is a good general overview from a scholarly, reliable source. In particular,
I appreciated how it mentioned that not every gang member is a criminal, for I feel that
Tostenson, L., Little, D., Bell, B., Russell, D., Ohnesorge, S., Tapases, L., & WBTV. (2009,
November 13). Teen Summit aims to open dialogue about gangs and violence in
summit-aims-to-open-dialogue-about-gangs-and-violence-in-charlotte/