The National Gang Center (NGC) youth demographic analysis reports that nearly 33% of gang members in large American cities are under 18 years old, with the proportion growing outside of metropolises. Almost 37% of gang members in suburban districts are adolescents, followed by 48% in small cities, and approximately 59% in rural communities. More than 92% of members across all categories are male, although between 22% and 49.5% of gangs count young females in their membership.
Among the numerous activities associated with gang culture in the United States, is gambling. Given the significant proportion of youth involvement in gangs and the fact that 60-80% of teenagers exhibit gambling behavior, there is cause to investigate a potential link between the two. Does joining a gang in adolescence create or indicate a vulnerability towards problematic gambling behavior? And if so, does gang youth gambling addiction create an environment that makes it more challenging to leave the life behind? Let’s explore.
Exploring the Association Between Youth Involvement in Gambling and Gangs in America
What Research Says
Direct research regarding the connection between youth involvement in gangs is limited in America. However, an interesting study on the youth population (aged nine to 14) of Pacific Islanders in New Zealand found a disproportionately high risk for gambling and gang involvement compared to the general population:
“We conducted exploratory secondary analyses of data from 1063 Pacific youth and their mothers using data from two time points (age nine and 14 years) from a longitudinal cohort study. Gang involvement at age nine years was significantly associated with gambling at age 14 years, with adjusted odds of 2.25 (95% CI [1.16, 4.37]).”
Cooccurrence of Youth Disorders and Involvement in Gangs and Gambling
There are mental and behavioral health disorders that cooccur with problem gambling that are also evident in adolescent gang members. Recent research on Gangs and Adolescent Mental Health unveiled that the rate of mental health conditions is significantly higher when compared to the general population:
Alcohol Dependence: 66.6% of gang members struggle with alcohol dependence.
Antisocial Personality Disorder: 85.8% of gang members struggle with antisocial personality disorder.
Anxiety: 58.9% of gang members struggle with anxiety.
Depression: 19.7% of gang members struggle with depression.
Drug Dependence: 57.4% of gang members struggle with drug dependence.
Suicide Attempt: 34.2% of gang members have attempted suicide.
Psychosis: 25.1% of gang members struggle with psychosis.
Additional research has found that young gang members are also at risk of developing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which is also comorbid with problem gambling. Conversely, recurring trauma faced in early adolescence can lead to the decision to join a gang to fill the void that a young person had been experiencing in their life, complicating the risk of problematic gambling behavior even further.
Genetic Vulnerability in Gang and Gambling Involvement
There is another cooccurring factor that may make a young person more vulnerable to joining a gang and adopting problematic gambling behavior. Genetics are known to play a role in each, beyond observational learning which is also a clear indicator of future problems for youth who grow up around gambling and gang activity. Researchers have uncovered that males carrying the low-active MAO-A gene were nearly twice as likely to join an organized gang than males with the high-active gene. Studies have confirmed the same association between the low-active MAO-A gene and pathological gambling.
Normalization and Promotion of Gambling in Gang Culture
Gambling behavior is not just normalized in youth gang culture, it is highly regarded. Gang infested street corners across America are dotted by members hunched over with bills in hand and embroiled in games of craps and dominoes. Young gang members adopt the same behavior through observational learning.
Further, both gang and gambling culture are inadvertently promoted by celebrities, who are known to exhibit influence on the behaviors of American youth. While there is no direct intent to sway youth towards these cultures (when asked, they will state the opposite) their antics are everywhere for American adolescents to see. For instance, influencer Drake, who was recently caught in a highly publicized battle with Kendrick Lamar (who brought Bloods and Crips together on stage), incessantly promotes gambling on his digital channels. Their feud resulted in a gang style drive-by shooting at Drake’s residence, with Drake’s security guard being injured in the process. This violence may serve as a cautionary tale to the general population, but to youth who are predisposed to risk taking behaviors it’s all part of the allure. Until gang culture and gambling culture are admonished by famous influencers, youth will remain vulnerable to each.
Pressure to Gamble from Peers and Problematic Role Models
“Steve was exposed to gambling on the streets by the “crooks and criminals” in his social network. He felt pressured to use gambling as a way to survive on the streets. Steve described how he had little choice but gamble to earn recognition of the “older professional crooks”. He described below that he “learned” how to gamble, by watching the game unfold and being an “assistant” or as he described a “poonta” to the “bigger” guys. He played the games he needed to play to “hang” with the gang; in essence this older gambling crowd became his social network.”
The above is extracted from a research paper titled “Gambling in the Landscape of Adversity in Youth”. It confirmed that young males (and young females to a lesser extent) growing up around criminal elements are exposed to gambling through social influences through their peers and adults.
Perception of Gambling as a Source of Income
Certain music videos and movies may promote gang culture as a vessel to wealth attained through criminal enterprise, but the reality is that most youth involved in gangs live in abject poverty. They have a misguided perception that gambling is a source of income that will help them (and dependent families) escape. Further, evidence indicates that American gang youth, in comparison to their non-gang peers, are more likely to report alcohol and illicit drug use. Gambling is seen as a means to funding these habits as well.
The same research referenced above (Gambling in the Landscape of Adversity in Youth) unveiled that earning money to cover basic necessities and buy drugs or alcohol were motivating factors to gamble.
What Needs to be Done
Tackling the gang problem in the United States is beyond the scope of the work we do at Kindbridge Behavioral Health. However, youth gambling addiction and cooccurring disorders is most certainly in our wheelhouse. Our expertise in this area qualifies us to state that youth gang prevention and intervention programs should include opportunities to screen for vulnerabilities to gambling disorder (GD), to provide education on GD, and offer access to online therapeutic support to youth and their families from experts in the field. View more on How to Build a Youth Gambling Awareness Program and reach out to discuss options for your community.
Let’s Talk About a Youth Gambling Awareness Program for Your Community
CALL +1 (877) 426-4258
OR
Email [email protected]
