Gangs: The Silent Epidemic of Suburban High Schools

Abstract

This qualitative research investigates the experiences of gang members who have graduated from high school, examining the factors that may have aided them on their path to graduation. It also explores those same factors in relation to the gang members that did not graduate. The goal is to determine why the same factors were positive for some gang members, assisting them in the pathway to graduation, and how they were negative for others, leading to dropping out. The 16 participants in this study were between 19 and 43 and attended suburban high schools in the Northeast.

Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were used to gather information. Qualitative methods were used to analyze the data (Creswell & Poth, 2018). The Resilience Theory (Rutter, 1987) was the lens through which the factors were examined. Social Constructivism helped participants make sense of the factors that were positive or negative. The results revealed five themes: support, extracurricular activities, social behaviors in and out of school, academic success, and self-image. These five themes had an impact on the graduation of gang members, depending on whether they were positive or negative for each participant. The conclusions drawn from and implications of study results could yield both a greater understanding of these marginalized students, as well as appropriate strategies for fostering their success. Doing so may result in a better high school experience and more successful graduates.