Teen Fatherhood and Gang Membership: A Qualitative Study

描述（由申请人提供）：这个为期36个月的探索性质的项目的重点是调查帮派成员中父亲身份的社会过程和意义。基于我们之前对旧金山湾区帮派的研究，包括我们最近对母性和帮派的研究，我们将研究以下三个研究问题：1。帮派参与对一个男孩（男性帮派成员）履行父亲角色的能力有什么影响？2. 其他社会、经济、文化和制度的影响和因素对帮派成员履行父亲角色的能力有什么影响？3. 父亲身份对帮派成员加入帮派有什么影响？主要使用定性和人种学研究方法，我们计划找到并采访240名家庭男孩，他们分别来自三个主要种族——非裔美国人、拉丁裔美国人和亚裔美国人。通过使用组合的预编码和开放式访谈时间表，我们将收集有关男性帮派成员的生活史和社会人口统计信息；他们自己的家庭经历；危险行为，包括他们在帮派中的经历；男子气概、帮派成员和父亲的概念；在得知自己即将成为父亲之前的生活经历；怀孕期间和分娩后的经历；以及他们与孩子（ren）和孩子（ren）的母亲过去和现在的关系。我们还将收集有关帮派、家庭以及其他环境和制度对他们生活的影响的社会和文化角色的数据。这个项目之所以重要，有三个原因：首先，该项目旨在研究青少年父亲的身份，这是一个重要但有些被忽视的研究课题。其次，通过关注帮派世界中的青少年父亲身份，我们旨在揭示父亲身份和帮派参与之间潜在冲突的社会过程。我们希望找出那些促使青春期宅男成为负责任的父亲或阻碍这一进程的因素。最后，一个旨在通过这些年轻人的生活经历来研究这个问题的研究项目将提供重要的数据，以帮助社区组织设计潜在的干预策略，以帮助成为帮派成员的年轻父亲。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The focus of this proposed 36 month exploratory qualitative project is to investigate the social processes and meaning of fatherhood among gang members. Building on our previous research on gangs in the San Francisco Bay Area, including our recent research on motherhood and gangs, we will examine the following three research questions: 1. What is the impact of gang involvement on a homeboy's (male gang member) ability to fulfill his role of father? 2. What are the impacts of other social, economic, cultural and institutional influences and factors on a gang member's ability to fulfill his role of father? 3. What is the impact of fatherhood on a gang member's involvement in the gang? Using primarily qualitative and ethnographic research methods, we plan to locate and interview 240 homeboys who are fathers from each of three major ethnic groups - African American, Latino, and Asian American. By utilizing a combined pre-coded and open-ended interview schedule we will gather information on the life histories and socio-demographics of male gang members; their own family experiences; risk behaviors, including their experiences in the gangs; notions of masculinity, gang membership and fatherhood; life experiences prior to learning that they were to be fathers; experiences during the pregnancy and after the birth of their child; and their past and on-going relationships with their child(ren) and the mother(s) of their child(ren). We will also collect data on the social and cultural roles of the gang, the family, and other environmental and institutional influences in their lives. This project is important for three reasons: First, the project seeks to examine teen fatherhood, an important and somewhat neglected research topic. Second, by focusing on teen fatherhood within the world of gangs we aim to uncover the potentially conflicting social processes of fatherhood and gang involvement. We wish to identify those factors that either encourage adolescent homeboys to become responsible fathers or impede this process. Finally, a research project designed to examine this issue, through the lived experiences of these young men, will provide important data to assist community based organizations to design potential intervention strategies to assist young fathers who are gang members.