Open AccessGangs and Adolescent Mental Health: a Narrative Review
Author(s) -
Alastair Macfarlane
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of child and adolescent trauma
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.583
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1936-153X
pISSN - 1936-1521
DOI - 10.1007/s40653-018-0231-y
Subject(s) - mental health , narrative , public health , psychology , narrative review , suicide prevention , poison control , psychiatry , criminology , medicine , psychotherapist , environmental health , nursing , linguistics , philosophy
This study presents a narrative review of the literature on gang culture and its association with mental health, including an in-depth overview of the topic area and reference to key systematic reviews and meta-analyses. This review will define gang culture, discuss the multiple interacting reasons (biological, psychological and social) why some young people may be attracted to gangs; and the psychiatric morbidities associated with being part of a gang. Gang culture and some adolescent mental health problems are intricately linked. This paper highlights ways in which research, practice and policy could be extended to minimise the injurious effects of gang culture on adolescent mental health.