Youth Gangs in American Society 4th Edition by Randall G. Shelden – Test Bank

Complete Test Bank With Answers

 

 

Sample Questions Posted Below

 

CHAPTER 5

Test Bank

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. 2. 3. In the 1970’s it was believed that female gangs only made up what percentage of all

gangs?

a. 5%

b. 10%

c. 15%

d. 20%

ANS: B REF: p. 130

The area of East Los Angeles provides a fascinating glimpse of how gangs emerge

and change with the times. Gangs in this area first emerged during the late:

a. 1930-1040’s

b. 1940-1050’s

c. 1950-1960’s

d. 1960-1970’s

ANS: A REF: p. 132

In 2009 the National Gang Intelligence Center reported this percentage of females

who claimed gang membership:

a. 12.6%

b. 17.5%

c. 21.5%

d. 29.4%

ANS: D REF: p. 1324. 5. 6. 7. 8. A detailed look at differences between male and female gang members in police

databases can be obtained from a study that analyzed files maintained by the:

a. Dallas Police Department

b. New York Police Department

c. Honolulu Police Department

d. Chicago Police Department

ANS: C REF: p. 133

According to the text, what is the primary source of income for female gang

members?

a. Prostitution

b. Selling drugs

c. Theft

d. Legitimate work

ANS: B REF: p. 135

What is the most common offense female gang members are arrested for?

a. Selling of drugs

b. Theft

c. Prostitution

d. Running away and other status offenses

ANS: D REF: p. 136

What is the most common type of female gang involvement?

a. Independent gang membership

b. c. d. Regular membership in a coed gang

A female auxiliary member of a male gang

Dual membership in all female and coed gangs

ANS: C REF: p. 137

According to the research, Honolulu, currently has around approximately how many

gangs?

a. 56

b. 121

c. 171

d. 200

ANS: C REF: p. 1399. According to Harper and Robinson (1999), what percent of female gang member’s

family’s received government assistance (food stamps, welfare etc.)?

a. 46%

b. 77%

c. 86%

d. 96%

ANS: D REF: p. 139

10.Kitchen’s student in 1995 in Indianapolis, Indiana revealed what percentage of

African-American female gang members families lived below the poverty level?

a. 54.2%

b. 65.3%

c. 77.1%

d. 85.7%

ANS: A REF: p. 140

11.Miller in 2005 discovered that only ____ percent of students in St. Louis were

proficient in English.

a. 6%

b. 10%

c. 15%

d. 20%

ANS: A REF: p. 141

12.Moore’s study of girl gangs in East Los Angeles reveals drugs to be:

a. Prominent in Asian gangs only

b. A major problem

c. An outlet for abuse from male gang members

d. Not a problem with females as much as males

ANS: B REF: p. 141

13.Female offenders are how many more times likely to show clinical symptoms of

anxiety and depression than non-offending females?

a. 2

b. 3

c. 4

d. 5

ANS: B REF: p. 14214.Which is not a form of gang initiation according to the text?

a. Sex

b. Fighting other gang members

c. Committing crimes

d. Smoking crack cocaine

ANS: D REF: p. 144

15.McNaught (1999) suggests that some girls who are drawn into gangs because of:

a. The need for protection

b. Pressure to join from peers

c. Sexual relationships

d. Being hooked on drugs

ANS: C REF: p. 147

16.Many female gang members describe their boyfriends as:

a. Nice

b. Caring

c. Possessive

d. Violent

ANS: C REF: p. 149

17.According to Moore, what percentage of female gang members reported being

sexually assaulted by a member of their own family?

a. 15%

b. 18%

c. 29%

d. 35%

ANS: C REF: p. 151

18.As it relates to school, gang members in general:

a. Drop out

b. Complete high school

c. Obtain a GED

d. Are star athletes

ANS: A REF: p. 15819.Many female gang members in school report that teachers usually:

a. Like them

b. Make sexual advances toward them

c. Stereotype them

d. Ignore them

ANS: C REF: p. 158

20.The average median income for working female gang members is:

a. $800.00 per month

b. $1000.00 per month

c. $1200.00 per month

d. $1500.00 per month

ANS: C REF: p. 158

TRUE/FALSE

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Girls’ involvement in delinquent gangs has never been of the same magnitude as their

male counterparts.

ANS: True REF: p. 130

Several studies have noted that boys are more likely than girls to remain involved in a

gang well into young adulthood.

ANS: True REF: p. 133

According to the research, male gang members are more likely to carry concealed

weapons than female gang members.

ANS: False REF: p. 135

Both male and female gang members spend a lot of their time “partying,” “kicking

it,” and just “hanging out” and the use of drugs and alcohol is common.

ANS: True REF: p. 141

One study (Kataoka et al. 2001) found that girl offenders were not more likely than

girls who were not in the system to show clinical symptoms of anxiety and

depression.

ANS: False REF: p. 1426. Girls tended to join at an earlier age (12) than the boys (14) in a study conducted in

7. 8. 9. Hawaii.

ANS: True REF: p. 143

Females most at risk for gang involvement come from homes in crisis.

ANS: True REF: p. 151

Scholars have argued that many mothers with children in gangs encourage their

children to become involved in gang activities.

ANS: True REF: p. 155

Gang members usually do not have problems at school if they attend regularly.

ANS: False REF: p. 157

10.Girls’ involvement in gangs is as frequent as that of their male counterparts.

ANS: False REF: p. 159

FILL IN THE BLANK

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Most studies of gangs show that gang membership tends to ___________ rates of

delinquency after individuals join gangs and tend to decrease after they leave.

ANS: Increase REF: p. 133

The media portrays female gang members as ____________ women.

ANS: Violent REF: p. 159

One main difference between male and female gangs is the _______________ spent

in the gang.

ANS: Length of time REF: p. 133

In contrast to the male gang member, female gang members rarely _____

or________.

ANS: Drink/Fight REF: p. 136

The most common role of a female in a gang is that of a ___________ member.

ANS: Auxiliary REF: p. 137ESSAY

1. 2. Describe the different types of roles females play in gangs.

ANS: There are three types of female gang involvement: 1) membership in an

independent gang, 2) regular membership in a male gang as a coed, and 3) as female

auxiliaries of male gangs. Most girls are found within the third type.

Auxiliaries usually form after a male gang comes into existence and, as mentioned

earlier, usually take a feminized version of the boys’ gang name. They often reflect

the age grouping found in male units. They have no formal leader but usually have

some members with more clout than others. Girls are not coerced to join. Rather, they

come into the gang through regular friendships and families. Wannabes are

informally screened for acceptability. Initiation usually involves an intense fist fight

with a regular (girl) member of the gang to prove the wannabe has courage. Initiation

ceremonies are not unlike those experienced by sororities or fraternities or even

country clubs (Campbell, 1993:136). “The gang will not accept just anyone, and this

fact alone augments the members’ self-esteem, which has taken such hard knocks

from teachers, social workers, police, and families. The gang rejects ‘prospects’

whose aim is merely to avail themselves of the gang’s fighting ability for their own

ends” (Ibid.).

REF: pp. 137-138

Describe the criminal activity of the female gang member and compare it to the male

gang member.

ANS: Previous research has shown that found that in every offense category female

gang members have a higher rate of delinquent offenses than non-gang females.

Most studies of gangs show that gang membership tends to increase rates of

delinquency after individuals join gangs and tend to decrease after they leave. Girls

are involved in very few homicides and they differ significantly from those

committed by boys. The research is also clear that male gang members commit far

more crimes than their female counterparts. A study by Esbensen, Deschenes, and

Winfree (1999) found that gang girls, while to significantly lesser degree in number

of incidents, are very similar to gang boys in the types of illegal acts they commit.

These researchers concluded that their findings did not support the idea that gang

girls are only ancillary members or that they are excluded from the illegal and violent

activities in which male gang members are exposed. “They are involved in assaults,

robberies, gang fights, and drug sales at substantial rates” (Esbensen et al., 1999:48).

More recent studies show that gang-related delinquency among girls is related to the

gender mix of the gangs. For example, Fleisher and Krienert (2004) found that having

a large proportion of males in their gangs increases girls’ participation in delinquency

and violence (see also Miller and Brunson, 2000). Peterson, Miller, and Esbensen

(2001) found that delinquency, particularly of a serious nature, was less likely within

primarily female gangs than all male or mixed gender gangs. Also, girls in mostly

male gangs had higher delinquency rates than boys who are in all-male gangs. Jody3. Miller’s study (2001) of gangs in St. Louis and Columbus, Ohio found that girls in

gangs did not participate in the most serious forms of gang crime mainly because the

male members excluded them and because many of the girls did not want to be

involved in activities they considered either dangerous or morally troubling. There is

also the fact that there are gender differences in norms supportive of violence and

delinquency (Joe and Chesney-Lind, 1995; Campbell, 1993). Also, compared to male

gang members, girls in gangs are less likely to be engage in fighting and they are less

likely to carry weapons (Morash, Park and Kim, 2010: location 5000; see also Joe and

Chesney-Lind, 1995; Miller, 2001; Sampson, Morenoff and Raudenbush, 2005;

Molnar at al., 2004).

REF: pp. 133-135

Describe the use of drugs in the female gang.

ANS: Both male and female gang members (and many nonmembers living in the

same areas) spend a lot of their time “partying,” “kicking it,” and just “hanging out,”

and the use of drugs and alcohol is common. Moore’s study of girl gangs in East Los

Angeles reveals drugs to be a major problem. She noted that heroin has been a

consistent feature of Chicano life for many years. Moore commented that in the

1980s, there was a heroin epidemic that was barely noticed in the press, no doubt

because of the focus on crack cocaine. The lifestyle that revolved around the use of

heroin was known as the tecato lifestyle. As the life history of one gang member

revealed, this was a life filled with a sporadic work history and characterized by

frequent jail and prison terms. By the age of 20, about half of the male gang members

studied—but less than 25 percent of the females—were using heroin. By this age,

most had already been labeled tecatos by their gang and had withdrawn into their own

subculture. To give an idea of the importance of heroin in their lives, Moore reported

that 39 percent of the men and 16 percent of the women mentioned “heroin, drugs,

narcotics” as being “the major happening during their teens” and “it was during their

teens that they were initiated into the world of heroin and its usually disastrous life

consequences” (Moore, 1991: 107).

REF: pp. 141-142