Cultural Explanations for Vietnamese Youth Involvement in Street Gangs - Douglas R. Kent, Ph.D..pdf

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Cultural Explanations for
Vietnamese Youth Involvement in Street Gangs
Public Safety: Gangs and Delinquency Research
Project 95-JD-FX-0014
___________________________
Final Report
_____________________
to the
United States Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Principal Investigators:
Douglas R. Kent, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Research and Planning
City of Westminster Police Department
George T. Felkenes, J.D. Crim.D.
Professor Emeritus, Center for Politics and Economics
Claremont Graduate University
June, 1998
FOREWORD
This project was conducted under Grant No. 95-JD-FX-0014 from the Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice.
Funding was provided under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, Part
D, Sections 281, 282, and 283, as amended. Points of view expressed in this document are those
of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, nor the official position or policies of the United States government.
SUGGESTED CITATION
Kent, D.R. & Felkenes, G.T. (1998). Cultural Explanations for Vietnamese Youth Involvement in
Street Gangs. Westminster, CA: Westminster Police Department, Office of Research and
Planning.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research required the participation of many parents and youths. We gratefully
acknowledge the contribution of each family interviewed as part of this project. Many parents
participated not only out of concern for their own teens, but also out of concern for youth in the
community who choose to become involved in street gangs and those who become delinquent.
We share this concern, and deeply appreciate the effort put forth by many individuals who joined
us in our search for effective means to keep youth from gangs and delinquency:
Project Administration
Betty M. Chemers, Director
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
D. Elen Grigg, Project Monitor
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
James I. Cook, Chief of Police
City of Westminster Police Department
Andrew E. Hall, Captain
City of Westminster Police Department
Project Consultant
Malcolm W. Klein, Professor Emeritus
University of Southern California
Project Staff
Huyeàn T. Cao, Research Associate
Abelardo O. Recio, Research Associate
Taââm M. Vuõ, Research Assistant
Phelan A. Wyrick, Research Associate
St. Anselm’s Cross-Cultural Community Center
13091 Galway Street, Garden Grove, California 92644
Marianne Blank, Executive Director
Cung Phaïm, Associate Director
Larry L. Danlinhton, Interviewer
Hieàn Leâ, Interviewer
Dieâûm Q. Vuõ, Interviewer
Vietnamese Community of Orange County, Incorporated
1618 W. First Street, Santa Ana, California 92703
Nghiaõ T. Traàn, Executive Director (former)
Sam K. Ho, Associate Director
182960289.001.png
Andria T. Mai, Interviewer
Quang V. Phaïm, Interviewer
Danh T. Phan, Interviewer
Focus Group Participants
Tony Ñoan, Program Specialist, City of Westminster Community Services
George T. Felkenes, Professor Emeritus, The Claremont Graduate School
Sam K. Ho, Vietnamese Community of Orange County, Incorporated.
Douglas R. Kent, Director of Research and Planning, Westminster Police Department
Malcolm W. Klein, Professor Emeritus, University of Southern California
Khao T. Löu, Independent Cultural Consultant
Kimi Nguyeâõn, Deputy Probation Officer, Orange County Probation Department
Cung Phaïm, Associate Director, Saint Anselm’s Cross-Cultural Community Center
Steven J. Sentman, Deputy Probation Officer, Orange County Probation Department
Peggy J. Smith, Professor Emerita, California State University at Long Beach
Nghiaõ T. Traàn, Vietnamese Community of Orange County, Incorporated.
Jenny Y. Tröông, Police Services Officer, Westminster Police Department
Timothy Vuõ, Police Officer, Westminster Police Department
Other Contributors
Andrew Ño, Community member
C. Sue Reeds, Westminster Police Department
Judy G. Mangianelli, Westminster Police Department
Judith L. Nelson, Independent Editor
 
ABSTRACT
The goal of this project was to provide recommendations toward the development of
effective community-based programs to prevent gang membership and related delinquency. This
cross-sectional study examined the relationship between gang involvement and delinquency in
communities which have a large number of Vietnamese refugee families in Southern California.
Intra-ethnic group comparisons of delinquency using 1,032 official records showed that Asian
gang delinquency represents up to 48% of all Asian delinquency. Hypotheses concerning both
cultural and non-cultural aspects of the etiology of youth gang involvement were developed in a
series of focus groups with experts in Vietnamese culture and experts in gang behavior.
Interviews with 270 pairs of Vietnamese parents and youths were conducted in a community
agency setting by trained Vietnamese interviewers. Gang involvement was measured using both
a traditional method, and an innovative method which quantified the centrality of gang members
in the social life of the youth. Multivariate analyses indicated that non-cultural explanations
were more predictive than cultural explanations of gang involvement. The best predictors were a
positive attitude toward gangs on the part of the youth, and the presence of gangs in the youth’s
residential neighborhood environment. Findings suggest that promising approaches to reducing
gang participation should include changing attitude toward gangs from positive to negative.
Additionally, youth should be equipped with interpersonal skills to resist the influence of gangs
within their residential areas. Attitude change and gang resistence skills should be incorporated
into programs designed to reduce gang involvement among youth.

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