1. Running Header: YOUTH GANG VIOLENCE AND THE VALUE OF SOCIAL 1
Youth Gang Violence and the Value of Social Bonds: Application of Hirschi’s
Social Bond Theory
Andrew Eastwick
Appalachian State University

2. YOUTH GANG VIOLENCE AND THE VALUE OF SOCIAL 2
Travis Hirschi’s social bond theory was first introduced in his work Causes
of Delinquency in 1969. Hirschi (1969) utilized the assumptions of control theory
to explain that an individual’s bond to a society results in a reduced likelihood of
deviant behavior. Inversely, diminishing those bonds results in an increased
likelihood of deviance. Hirschi (1969) outlined four elements of the social bond:
attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. By examining the
characteristics of gang activity and applying the elements of the social bond, a
method for prevention will form.
Elements of Gang Activity
Understanding what constitutes youth gang activity, and subsequently
gang violence by youths, primarily requires an understanding of who participates
in, and what constitutes youth gang culture. Finn-Aage Esbensen (2000)
provides insight into the elements present in gang activity:
(a) a gang must consist of two members (b) ages of members must range
from 12-24 (c) members must share some sense of identity (d) youth
gangs must maintain relative permanence, showing stability over time,
and (e) involvement in criminal activity.
Demographically, youth gang members are traditionally assumed to be
male, ethnic or racial minorities, who reside in the inner-city. Klein (1995)
challenged that traditional model by showing the majority of low income, inner
city youths from split families do not join gangs. Klein (1995, p.76) went further
and identified the qualities of those who did indeed join those gangs:
(a) the presence of personal deficiencies such as difficulty in school and
low self-esteem, (b) a notable tendency towards defiance,
aggressiveness, and fighting, (c) an above average desire for status and
identity within a group, and (d) a lackluster lifestyle in which the
excitement of gang activity fills the perceived void.

3. YOUTH GANG VIOLENCE AND THE VALUE OF SOCIAL 3
Analyzing these characteristics of gang members, the consistent pattern is the
lack of bond to conformist behavior.
Hirschi’s Social Bond Theory
A bond to society stems the development of deviant attitudes. The first
element of the social bond is attachment. Hirschi explains that the attachment of
a person to the opinions of others, specifically members of conventional society,
prevents deviance. Emile Durkheim (1961, p.64) identified this concept when he
said “the domain of the genuinely moral life only begins where the collective life
begins—or, in other words, that we are moral beings only to the extent that we
are social beings”. Hirschi interprets this to mean that deviation from the norms of
society results in a negative reaction from society, not the norms themselves,
that stems the deviant activity.
The second element of the social bond is commitment. Hirschi (1969)
describes commitment as the rational component of the process of conforming to
conventional behavior and development of the social bond. The driving concept
behind commitment is an investment in conventional behavior, such as gainful
employment, family, and education. When the potential deviant considers
committing a deviant activity, they must first consider the cost of that activity and
the potential loss of their social investments. The absence of social investments,
or in other words “nothing to lose”, frees the potential deviant from any negative
consequences. For instance, a youth who is involved in the community and has
developed a reputation will be less likely to associate with a gang for fear of
compromising his status as well as the reaction of the community.

4. YOUTH GANG VIOLENCE AND THE VALUE OF SOCIAL 4
The next element is involvement. This element of the social bond comes
as a result, or in some cases precedes, the investment in conventional behavior.
Stated simply, idle hands are the devil’s playgrounds. Klein (1969) observed that
many people “undoubtedly owe a life of virtue to a lack of opportunity to do
otherwise”. Involvement or immersion in conformist, conventional activities
results in a lack of time to do otherwise.
The final element of the social bond is belief. Belief is the incorporation of
conventional values into a person’s identity. Klein (1969) looks at the
neutralization theory of Sykes and Matza, wherein a person committing a deviant
act utilizes neutralizations to rationalize their actions. The concept of belief in
social bond theory does not dismiss the use of neutralizations to justify deviant
behavior, it rather identifies the fact that the weaker a persons belief in
conventional, conformist behavior, the more likely they are to compromise that
belief. It is thus the final cohesive aspect of the social bond, the incorporation of a
belief in the conformist behavior that prevents even the remote possibility of
deviating from the conventional values and the severing of the social bond.
Social Bond and Youth Gang Violence
Social bonds act as an obstruction in the process of deviant behavior. The
involvement of adolescents in gangs is thus a result of a breach of the social
bond. By looking at Klein’s (1995) identification of the qualities of youth gang
members, we can identify the risk factors that draw the adolescents from
conventional behavior.

5. YOUTH GANG VIOLENCE AND THE VALUE OF SOCIAL 5
Adolescent social interaction relies intensely upon the desire to attain
status and personal identity in a group. Adolescents who are at risk for
involvement in gang activity exhibit an above average desire for that status and
identity according to Klein (1995). Esbensen (2000, p.5) identifies the influence
that exposure to anti-social, delinquent peers has in the development of anti-
social behavior, stating, “association with delinquent peers is one of the strongest
predictors of gang membership”. Hill (2001) found that youths who were exposed
to deviant, antisocial peers were twice as likely to become involved in gang
activity. In the case of youth gang involvement, exposure to deviant, anti-social,
and violent peers offers the opportunity for the youth to develop the attachment
to deviant activity, rather than an attachment to the conventional values of
society. This element of the bond possesses elements of Sutherland’s theory of
differential association. Differential association states that deviance is learned
through intimate groups. Sutherland also states that not it is not only the methods
that are learned, but the neutralizations of guilt as well. While this aids in
explaining how the deviant activity is learned, it stops short of explaining why
youths gravitate towards it.
As a result of their attachment to non-conventional and deviant values,
delinquents’ commitment and investment in conventional institutions diminishes
as well. Hill (2001) found that students with low academic achievement were
three times more likely to become involved in gang activity and students with low
school commitment were twice as likely to become involved in gang activity. The
institution of family poses as a risk factor as well, where the findings showed that

6. YOUTH GANG VIOLENCE AND THE VALUE OF SOCIAL 6
youths whose families had an attitude favoring violence were two and a half
times likely to become involved in gangs. Youths with one parent, or one parent
living with another adult were two and a half to three times more likely to join a
gang than youths from two-parent households. The failure of a commitment to
conventional social institutions could then be said to be a catalyst in the evolution
of a youth to a juvenile gang offender.
A lack of commitment to conventional social institutions leads to a lack of
involvement in conventional behaviors. Klein (1969) directly addresses the
delinquency of adolescents as a result of the lack of involvement. Klein cites
Sykes and Matza’s (1961) Juvenile Delinquency and Subterranean Values, in
which adolescents are described as members of the leisure class in their focus
on adventure, rejection of work, a taste for luxury and the big score, and the
respect paid to manhood demonstrated through force. At this point, one may
begin to see the incorporation of violence into the non-conventional behaviors
associated with gang activity. Both Hill (2001) and Klein (1995) identify the
sources of violence emerging from favorable attitudes towards violence in the
home and a notably above average tendency towards aggressiveness and
fighting, respectively.
Conclusion
Utilizing what we know about youth gang activity and the concept of the
social bond, a clear preventive measure takes shape. If deviance results from a
lack of involvement and commitment to conformist activity within communities
both urban and rural, a concerted effort towards developing a connection to the

7. YOUTH GANG VIOLENCE AND THE VALUE OF SOCIAL 7
community would prevent gang involvement. Extracurricular involvement in
community activities combined with positive reinforcement conveys a sense of
belonging, with which comes the attainment of the status craved by at risk
youths.

8. YOUTH GANG VIOLENCE AND THE VALUE OF SOCIAL 8
References
Esbensen, F.-A., & United States. (2000). Preventing adolescent gang
involvement. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice
Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Esbensen, F-A. (2010). Youth violence: Sex and race differences in offending,
victimization, and gang membership. Philadelphia, Pa: Temple University
Press.
Hill, K. G., Lui, C., & Hawkins, J. D. (2001). Early precursors of gang
membership: A study of Seattle youth. Washington, D.C.: Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley: University of California
Press.
Klein, Malcolm W. (1995). The American Street Gang. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Matza, D., & Sykes, G. M. (1961, 12). Juvenile Delinquency and Subterranean
Values. American Sociological Review, 26(5), 712.