Abstract
Purpose. Throughout history, gangs were considered surrogate families and gang members were willing to die for their gangs. Current research now demonstrates that despite family dysfunction, gang members choose their family over the gang. The purpose of this study was to provide a theory-based, psychological perspective with which to examine these contradictory research findings. Specifically, the study intended to demonstrate how learned behaviors and family structure influence gang involvement among Latino youth. Method. Using phenomenological, semi-structured interviews, male, Latino juveniles participated in this study. All participants were soft-core gang members. To corroborate their stories, parents were also interviewed using a semi-structured format. Results. Participants learned to be soft-core gang members by observing and modeling the behaviors of other gang members. They were also influenced to join because the quality of their family life was inadequate and parents did not serve as positive role models. Regardless of how dysfunctional the family, however, most participants chose their family over the gang. They had a strong sense of obligation to family and expressed a willingness to die for mothers and siblings, rather than fellow gang members. Discussion. The findings demonstrate that mental health professionals should intervene at the family level when targeting juvenile, Latino, soft-core, gang members. Family therapy should help parents enhance their parenting skills, as well as assist soft-core gang members in becoming "role models" and empowering their younger siblings to choose a better path in life. In order to gain a fuller understanding of family dynamics, more research is needed to explore the quality of family life of medium-core and hard-core gang members, and how it differs from that of soft-core gang members.