group 5 podcast

Gang impact on families & society: 

Carsandre Mondesir Mohit Kumar Miriam Koroma Stefan Leonard Sean Radix Gang impact on families & society

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model: 

Bronfenbrenner’s model of development Chart Bronfenbrenner’s model of development, which focuses on individuals and their relationships and interactions within their environmental contexts. This model of development includes four environmental layers which are: Microsystem Mesosystem Exosystem macrosystem Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model

Microsystem: 

Microsystem The Microsystem is the system closest to the child, which includes the child’s family or school. Gang membership extracts a terrible toll from the lives of all who contact the members. Parents and relatives of gang members live in a double fear, one for their families’ safety and their gang related child. The normal Microsystem of a child is severely interrupted and altered due to gang involvement. This initial interruption leads to further disruption. Parents who neglect their children contribute to this break down of the Microsystem . Additionally family households which have tendencies towards domestic violence leads the child from the originial Microsystem in search of a more safer environment to be apart of.

Microsystem Continued: 

Microsystem Continued Normally a Microsystem includes siblings as well as parents. The violence which one child learns from being in a gang is exported to their siblings. Many times gang culture includes various other external factors which further contribute to the decline of a child’s Microsystem . (For example: Drugs, Weapons, Prostitution ect )

Video: 

Video

Mesosystem: 

The mesosystem is the interrelationships among the child’s microsystems , the second layer of context in the ecological system model. This system includes a child’s School, Church and community centers. Gang Influence on the Mesosystem has a deepening effect on a major part of a child’s School environment. Increased stress, violence or other external factors disrupts the normal Mesosystem which a family member would normally be accustomed to. These gang disruptions which occur further deteriorate the Mesosystem . Mesosystem

Video: 

Video

Exosystem: 

Exosystem The exosystem is a social system that can affect children but in which they do not participate directly, the third layer of context in the ecological systems model. This system includes neighborhoods, mass media such as Social Networking Websites and community centers. As the family unit becomes more effected by Gang Culture, neighborhood gathering places such as parks, subway stations and other Exosystem Models become negatively effected and the family unit therefore alters their normal habitual routines. Subsequently, the original Exosystem has now been changed. The media shows that it is ok to be part of gang by showing rappers that are part of gangs and all their wealth. Seeing this, a child will look up to them and continue to duplicate their actions.

Macrosystem: 

Macrosystem The macrosystem is the culture and subcultures in which the child lived, the fourth layer of context in the ecological system model. This includes greater society as a whole and traditions and values. As the Gang Prescense grows, entire districts and cities become adversly effected. Due to increasing violence, standard of living for a family unit will go down as well as exposure to more violence since there will ulitimately be a backlash from Authority figures in response to the Gangs. Families will thus have to pay higher taxes for this extra security prescence . In this sense, other Microsystems which at first were not effected by gang violence now become effected since they face higher expenses which lead to poverty and neglect of their children and the whole cycle starts over again.

Developmental Niche : 

Developmental Niche consists of three interconnected dimensions of culture that shape children’s lives thus affecting physical, cognitive, linguistic, social and emotional development in childhood. As a member of a family becomes more entrenched with Gang Culture, physical, cognitive and linguistic development takes on a new path. Developmental Niche

Gang Impact on Developmental Niche : 

Linguistic Changes: The members of a family structure develop similar linguistic tendencies due to their constant and close proximity to one another. However Gangs develop their own “slang” to stay ahead of the authorities. When one of the member’s of a family unit joins a gang, then that member will start to pick up the gang’s vocabulary which was previously foreign to the member. Cognitive Changes: As stated previously the close proximity that family members have to one another influences their Developmental Niche. Cognitive development is one of those dimensions. The more a member of a family unit is around a Gang, his or her cognitive development is significantly altered. Whereas before a person might approach a problem in a peaceful, non-confrontational manner, the alternate cognitive course of action will be more violent and aggressive in nature. Physical Changes: With increased Gang Involvement, a family member will begin to exhibit exterior physical changes such as tattoos and piercings. Gang Impact on Developmental Niche

Video Explanation : 

As you can see, gangs have their own forms of communication such as hand signs and walks along with their own unique vocabulary which is completely foreign to the original Cognitive nature of the family member. Video Explanation

Video : 

Video

Statistics: 

Statistics Young people who are exposed to frequent gang-related violence may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. This disorder is marked by disorganized behavior, anxiety, nightmares and paranoia. Young people with PTSD may experience depression, anger, distrust, alienation and fearfulness. The more embedded that a person becomes in violent behavior and/or gang culture, the more cut off they are from normal social integration. They can lose the skills to negotiate with other people in a nonviolent way when disputes or conflicts arise

Accommodation/Adaptation : 

Accommodation/Adaptation In Piaget’s Theory Of Cognitive Development, cognitive adaptation involves two processes: Assimilation and Accommodation. Assimilation is when a person tries to make sense of new experiences in terms of our existing cognitive structures Accommodation is when our cognitive structures change to integrate the new experiences

Gang Influence on Assimilation & Accommodation : 

Gang Influence on Assimilation & Accommodation When one of the members of a family unit is faced with difficult or unexpected problems such as abuse or a sudden loss of a family member they struggle to assimilate these new difficult experiences with their existing cognitive structures and thus they turn to Gangs to seek out the comfort and environment which they once knew in the previous family structure and assimilate to that new Gang Structure It is a fact that Family Poverty is a key contributing factor to one’s involvement in a Gang. A family’s economic status is a fluctuating factor in a person’s life, it can go from stable and secure to impoverished and destitute. A member of a family will try and accommodate or change their cognitive structures to fit in with this new environment and new experiences.

Video: 

Video

Personal Experience: 

Personal Experience Two of our Group Members, Carsandre Mondesir and Stefan Leoanard , had personal experiencse with gangs and how destructive Gang culture can really be on a family and on a neighborhood .

Carsandre Stefan: 

Carsandre Stefan “On September 28, 2009 my cousin Jeff who was involved in drug gang activity was murdered at 2:30 p.m. A friend came to pick him up where he said they were just going to hang out. Sure enough my cousin went with him thinking they were just going out to have a good time. Once they reached their destination, the drug leader “Mr. Biggs” was there waiting for him along with some other people. An argument broke out and Mr. Biggs shot my cousin at close range nine times. If only you knew what Mr. Biggs did to his friend.” “ Two years ago I was approach by gangs members that lived in another area in the Bronx they were called Crips . They put a gun to my head and almost forced me to join and I said no. So the gang members cocked the trigger and I began to panic . While this was going on all I can think about how my family would live without me.”

Questions for thought: 

Questions for thought How are the three interconnected dimensions of culture effected by Gang Culture? Out of Bronfenbenner’s 4 environmental layers, which one do you think is effected by gang culture the most? Microsystem,Mesosystem,Exosystem or Macrosystem ? Do you think that abuse is a key factor in the breakdown of a family structure? Why? After seeing this podcast and accompanied videos, has your perception of how a gang can impact Families & Society changed at all? When a family or society has been completely broken down by Gang Culture, do you think there is any way to re-build those previous structures? If yes, then how so?