Bullying and gangs.
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.


METHODS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
School of Sociology and Social Work, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia. r.d.white@utas.edu.au
Rob
R
White
Ron
R
Mason
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D014754:Violence; D055815:Young Adult