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Other factors that might motivate youths to join gangs and engage in violence (aside from status frustrations)

Having no social bonds in or outside of school (absent parents, lack of friends)

Knowing people who are in gangs (parents were in gangs, siblings, friends) so they naturally gravitate towards that path

They feel like their values are understood or shared by the people in gangs (frustration with the norms, angry with the world )

Self protection (from sexual advances or harassment/ from abuse from environment/ parents)

They might not perceive it as deviant behaviour, they might just see it as finding a sense of belonging in a group, because humans are social animals

May be a way of life where they are from (culturally) El Salvador?

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Power and control, dominance

Lack of better skills / alternatives to problem resolution

Lack of maturation to realise prosocial / antisocial influence

Media influences (violent media normalises aggression)

Sense of belonging/ meaning / achievement

Social security

Reactive towards negative affect, threat perception is higher / lower threshold

Lack of protective factors (parents etc.)

Interventions

Education campaigns (for parents, for youths)

Interpersonal skills

Empowering youths in skills or strengths development

engaging youths with community events (keep them busy)

Mental health and wellness programmes (to help them regulate negative emotions)

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Factors Motivating Youth to Join Gangs/Violence

Sense of power/look cool - adrenaline

For protection/support system

Sense of belonging/identity

Peer pressure

Interventions

Counselling

Community-level supervision around schools

Gang awareness in school

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Factors:

Peer Pressure to join friends or trying to fit in

Exposure to social media trends; getting the video of the fight viral

Joining a gang may seem superior in a social standings among younger students

Bullying someone because to the gang, that person is a deviant to their norm. Body shaming, social anxiety etc

Interventions:

Educational awareness talks and campaigns to debunk ideology of joining gangs are cool; expose consequences to the students. Be done by SPF , schools, ex-convicts.

Create social support groups online to reach the troubled

Regulate social media companies’ ability for certain violent content to be shared but it will be hard to achieve this

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Join gangs

to get recognition

brotherhood and friendship

Intervention

Activity centres

tech giants to have AI detecting bullying videos and auto-remove.

Law should be able to remove bullying videos

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Factors

1. Personal factors

Educational qualification

Lack of self-belonging

Depravation of attention

Trauma

2. Environmental factors

Socioeconomic disadvantage

Peer Pressure

Lack of opportunities

Family dysfunction or background

Social media

Interventions

Crime prevention programmes in school

Strengthening family support

Community engagement and support

Education and employement opportunies

Trauma-informed care or counselling/student protection

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Factors:

Peer pressure – to fit in the group, especially those friends who are more influential and already a gang members

Dysfunctional families – victims of abuse, neglect and lack of parental supervision

Social media – constantly being exposed to media contents of violence that normalise and glorify such behaviour

Sense of belonging - able to find their identity in the group, vow of loyalty

Interventions:

Educational programmes - to reach out to youth at risks and provide mentorship

Family support programmes - providing family counselling to improve family dynamics

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Factors

Establish social standing in school (Etc bullying, peer pressure, mental state)

Turbulent environment at home, can cause feelings of loneliness (want a sense of belonging in a gang)

Boredom

Lack of money

Status of schools (Eg neighbourhood schools VS SAP schools)

Interventions

Patrolling by discipline masters around the school premises

Ex-convict/ SPF talks to deter any deviant actions and inform of legal consequences

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Factors that motivate youths to join gangs and engage in violence.

Sense of Belonginess

They get bullied by peers at school. So, they resort to joining these gangs to feel protected and belonged.

Rebellion

The teenage phase of 'rebellion' where they want to get a rise out of their parents and teachers.

Attention

Again, they feel neglected by their parents, friends and teachers. So, they join these gangs to be noticed and to receive the constant attention.

Engaging in Violence

They engage in violence to fit in, or they get inspired by a character on TV and they decided to role model that character or person. They also engage in violence to show authority.

Interventions

Community Engagement where Teachers work with community representatives to form interest groups such as dance, football etc.; to keep them occupied.

Counselling where, schools can work with certified counsellors to work with these students to get them back on the right path and provide them guidance in their academic and personal development.

Tour around Changi Prison to show them the consequences of being deviant and speak to convicts/ex-convicts.

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Factors

1. Socioeconomic factors

2. Sense of community / identity

3. Family dynamics / influences

4. Social Media influences

Interventions

1. Early interventions in educational institutions through targeted programs / campaigns

2. Community drop-in centres with activities in areas where demographics show higher number of cases

3. Job employment opportunities to reduces recidivism