Creative Writing on How Family Hierarchy Impacts Joining the Mac Baller Brims Gang

Most gang members of illegal groups come from broken families or single-parent-headed families (Decker, Melde & Pyrooz, 2013). The study will focus on the former gang members of the Mac Baller Brims to establish the relationship between growing up in a single-family and possibility of joining Mac Baller. There are strong ties between family hierarchy and propensity of joining gangs (Ayling, 2011). Essentially, the family defines the level of education of each family, their level of income, standards of living, as well as their values. Research has shown that individuals that come from single parent families are most likely to get into gang groups (Decker, Melde & Pyrooz, 2013). Various researchers have observed that many factors motivate people to join gang groups and they include but not limited to child negligence, violence, as well as drug use. From the Mac Baller Brims gang members, it is evident that family hierarchy determines whether a person joins a gang or not (Ayling, 2011). Joining a gang is dependent on the hierarchy of the family (Decker, Melde & Pyrooz, 2013). More specifically, members from single families are likely to join gangs since they do not have close family structures (Ayling, 2011). Notably, majority of the Mac Baller Brims members are from single headed families (Cook, 2015). This means that most of them had limited attention and care from their one parent while growing up (Decker et al., 2014). There was a gap created by the departure of either their mothers or fathers during their upbringing which means that there was not sufficient social development. In addition, most of the children from broken and single families join the gang groups so that they can feel some sense of belonging. They join so that they can identify with their peers and deal with the stress that comes from lacking the attention and love from both parents (Decker et al., 2014).

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to better understand how family hierarchy impacts joining the Mac Baller Brims gang. The drive to pursue this research was intrigued by the rising cases of gangs in Bronx, N.Y. This research sought to investigate the correlation between family hierarchy and the propensity of joining a gang group (Cook, 2015). The reason for choosing Mac Baller is because it is one of the biggest and most aggressive gangs in the country. The study will also help educate the public on what they can do to help reduce the number of young people joining gangs that add no value to their lives.

According to the sociological approach, the study of operations and conduct of gangs should be centered on the social reasons that make individual form or join such gangs. The study about gangs is comprehensive when it takes the cultural context perspective. Therefore, this research will stress the aspects such as family and the way family structure or hierarchy can make people join gangs the beliefs and norms which are developed by the gang members to justify their actions. This research seeks to find out the severity to which family hierarchy is associated with the likelihood of joining gangs by using the Mac Baller Brims gang as an illustration.

Significance

Understanding the nuances of family hierarchy is important in the process of comprehending its role in the chances of individual joining street gangs. This is because people assume different roles within the system of the family. Such roles might be the outcome of family dynamics. Therefore, it is important to study these family hierarchal nuances through the eyes of Mac Baller because it is currently the most lethal gang in the City of New York, and with one of the biggest membership. So, it would be easy to get comprehensive information from its big population. There are studies that show several ways in which gangs can be regarded as a threat to national security. There are many cases of violence in the cities, which means that the number of former gang members has increased by a large margin in the past few years (Cook, 2015). Further, the study will fill the stated knowledge gap following preliminary findings that show that researchers are aware of the security issues that former gangs pose, yet the majority of them are yet to establish whether security agencies may have to deal with former gangs as a daily security issue facing most people in the society.

Background

Secondary sources are important for this study and the following articles and texts will be used to provide the necessary information:

Alexander, D. (2017). Terror on Broadway. Wildside Press LLC.

Ayling, J. (2011). Gang change and evolutionary theory. Crime, Law and Social Change, 56(1), 1-26.

Bjerregaard, B. (2010). Gang membership and drug involvement: Untangling the complex relationship. Crime & Delinquency, 56(1), 3-34.

Cook, A. (2015). The armies of the streets: the New York City draft riots of 1863. University Press of Kentucky.

Davies, G., & Fagan, J. (2012). Crime and enforcement in immigrant neighborhoods: Evidence from New York City. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 641(1), 99-124.

Decker, S. H., Melde, C., & Pyrooz, D. C. (2013). What do we know about gangs and gang members and where do we go from here?. Justice Quarterly, 30(3), 369-402.

Decker, S. H., Pyrooz, D. C., Sweeten, G., & Moule Jr, R. K. (2014). Validating self-nomination in gang research: Assessing differences in gang embeddedness across non-, current, and former gang members. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 30(4), 577-598.

Erlanger, H. S. (2014). Estrangement, machismo, and gang violence.

Gau, J. M., & Brunson, R. K. (2010). Procedural justice and order maintenance policing: A study of innercity young mens perceptions of police legitimacy. Justice quarterly, 27(2), 255-279.

Hodges, G. R. G. (2012). New York city cartmen, 1667-1850 (Vol. 4). NYU Press.

Framework

The theoretical approaches to the evolution of former gangs and gang membership will be looked into in this section. Specifically, the sociological theory that will guide this study is the Social Learning Theory. According to the theory, individuals can learn new things from others who do them. People, particularly children can learn new behaviors by watching those of other individuals who are around them, and then copy them. Like in this case, those people around the neighborhoods where the Mac Baller gang operates are most likely to be influenced by what they observe, especially those from the single parent families, since they are not being watched with many eyes as opposed to both parents.

Research Questions

What are the family characteristics of Mac Baller gang members?

What type of relationship exists between Mac Baller gang members and their immediate family?

What are the negative effects of membership to their immediate families?

Under what situations do their families seek to help the former gang engaged relatives?

Nature of the Study

Quantitative: causal-comparative study

Mixed methods would be the best methodology for this study. It will involve a descriptive cross-sectional survey. The mixed method integrates both qualitative and quantitative methods. This approach is the most appropriate because it offers a better comprehension of the research topic as opposed to if they are used separately. This approach will use a variety of sources of data and methods of analysis as well as take into consideration input from stakeholders. The design will be used because of its convenience in collecting extensive data from the broad cross-section of respondents within a short time. The pluralistic approach does not rely on the census but evaluates multiple perspectives. By blending both qualitative and quantitative methods of study, the researcher will be able to gain breadth in the comprehension and corroboration of the subject, neutralizing their possible weaknesses.

Possible Types and Sources of Data

For the purpose of the study, both secondary and primary data will be used as proof of the motivation behind the hierarchical leadership from a family perspective that guides the Mac Baller Brims gang. Primary data will come from interviews with a representative group of former Mac Ballers.

References

Alexander, D. (2017). Terror on Broadway. Wildside Press LLC.

Ayling, J. (2011). Gang change and evolutionary theory. Crime, Law and Social Change, 56(1), 1-26.

Bjerregaard, B. (2010). Gang membership and drug involvement: Untangling the complex relationship. Crime & Delinquency, 56(1), 3-34.

Cook, A. (2015). The armies of the streets: the New York City draft riots of 1863. University Press of Kentucky.

Davies, G., & Fagan, J. (2012). Crime and enforcement in immigrant neighborhoods: Evidence from New York City. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 641(1), 99-124.

Decker, S. H., Melde, C., & Pyrooz, D. C. (2013). What do we know about gangs and gang members and where do we go from here?. Justice Quarterly, 30(3), 369-402.

Decker, S. H., Pyrooz, D. C., Sweeten, G., & Moule Jr, R. K. (2014). Validating self-nomination in gang research: Assessing differences in gang embeddedness across non-, current, and former gang members. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 30(4), 577-598.

Erlanger, H. S. (2014). Estrangement, machismo, and gang violence.

Gau, J. M., & Brunson, R. K. (2010). Procedural justice and order maintenance policing: A study of innercity young mens perceptions of police legitimacy. Justice quarterly, 27(2), 255-279.

Hodges, G. R. G. (2012). New York city cartmen, 1667-1850 (Vol. 4). NYU Press.