Patients or perpetrators? The effects of trauma exposure on gang members’ mental health: a review of the literature
| Published date | 13 June 2016 |
| Pages | 148-159 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRPP-05-2015-0015 |
| Date | 13 June 2016 |
| Author | Hayley Beresford,Jane L. Wood |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology |
Patients or perpetrators? The effects of
trauma exposure on gang members’
mental health: a review of the literature
Hayley Beresford and Jane L. Wood
Hayley Beresford and
Jane L. Wood are both
based at the School of
Psychology, Centre of
Research and Education,
(CORE-FP), University of Kent,
Canterbury, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –Gangs have become a hot topic in recent years, particularly since 2011 when gang members
became the poster child for “the worst bout of civil unrest in a generation”. Given the portrayal of gang
members as “super predators,”it is maybe not surprising that much of the media and scholarly attention, to
date, has focussed on gang members as perpetrators of violence —paying little attention to their role as
victims and the impact this may have on their psychological wellbeing (Bennett et al., 1996). The purpose of
this paper is to evaluate and synthesize theory and research relating to the relationship between gang
membership and mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress disorder and
considered how treating gang violence as a public health problem, rather than punishing it as a criminal
justice problem has superior benefits in terms of rehabilitation and reduced recidivism.
Design/methodology/approach –The scarcity of research on this topic meant that research from other
subfields of psychology was be collated in order to build a clearer picture of the psychological consequences
belonging to a gang can have.
Findings –It is clear from this review that gang members’involvement in violence (as victims and
perpetrators) is likely to have a negative impact on their behavioral, social and psychological functioning.
Originality/value –The authors suggest future directions should be aimed toward developing and honing a
robust program of research capable of producing intelligence-led assessment and intervention.
Keywords Mental health, Crime prevention and reduction, Rehabilitation, Trauma, PTSD,
Gang membership
Paper type Literature review
Gangs are a destabilizing force in any ordered community and have therefore been the focus of a
growing research effort to understand and remediating their effects (Wood and Alleyne, 2010).
However, much research focusses on gang members as perpetrators of violence, with relatively
little emphasis on their roles as victims and the subsequent effects on their psychological
wellbeing. To advance knowledge, broader and more creative academic inputs are required. To
this end, this review: first, identifies, evaluates and synthesizes relevant and representative
research pertaining to gang membership, trauma and mental illness; second, identifies gaps in
the literature and makes recommendations for addressing these; and third, draws attention to
the utility of current strategies for dealing with gangs and mental illness.
Gang membership and perpetration of violence
Gangs have a “group-enhancing effect”that promotes violence above and beyond association
with equally violent, non-gang youth (Klein et al., 2006, p. 413). Several self-report surveys attest
Received 29 May 2015
Revised 21 January 2016
Accepted 1 March 2016
PAGE148
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JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH, POLICY AND PRACTICE
j
VOL. 2 NO. 2 2016, pp.148-159, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2056-3841 DOI 10.1108/JCRPP-05-2015-0015
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