The Role of Deterministic Perceptions in Criminal Identity Process Among Adolescent Gang Members

• In Event: Causes and Correlates of Youth Offending and Delinquency

Abstract

This study investigates how deterministic and indeterministic perceptions influence criminal identity among adolescents involved in street gangs. The research compares two distinct groups: (1) persistent offenders with ongoing gang involvement and criminal activities, and (2) desisting offenders with past gang involvement but no current participation.
The analysis reveals two key findings. First, adolescents who developed indeterministic perceptions of gang lifestyle demonstrated increased capacity to question gang involvement and exhibited greater potential for gang disengagement. Second, persistent offenders who maintained deterministic perceptions of their gang involvement showed intensified criminal identity and continued delinquent behavior.
We conclude that, first, processes of indeterministic perceptions assist in the development of identity transformation among adolescents at gangs and, consequently, in gang exit; second, process of free choice serves as opportunities for indeterministic perceptions and possible shift from a criminal lifestyle to a normal one.

Author

• Ofer Zemel, University of Haifa