Alcohol and violence in the lives of gang members

Life within a gang includes two endemic features: violence and alcohol. Yet , to date, most researchers studying gang behavior have focused on violence and its relationship to illicit drugs, largely neglecting the importance o f alcohol in gang life. Because alcohol is an integral and regular part of socializing within gang life, drinking works as a social lubricant, or soci al glue, to maintain not only the cohesion and social solidarity of the gan g, but also to affirm masculinity and male togetherness. In addition to its role as a cohesive mechanism, particular drinking styles within gangs may operate, as with other social groups, as a mechanism to maintain group boun daries, thereby demarcating one gang from another. Other examples of intern al gang violent activities associated with drinking include righting betwee n members because of rivalries, tensions, or notions of honor or respect. A t a more symbolic level, drinking is associated with two important ritual e vents in gang life: initiation, or "jumping in," and funerals. By better un derstanding the link between drinking and violence among youth gangs, steps can be taken to determine the social processes that occur in the developme nt of violent behavior after drinking.