Gang Activity In Schools And Role Of School Nurse

Gang Activity in Schools and Role of the School Nurse
Decades ago, gangs were comprised of mature people. In the modern era, however, gangs are increasingly becoming common in learning institutions and they largely consist of adolescents. Gang membership is facilitated by both "pull" and "push" factors dominated by social and economic reasons (National Gang Center, n. d).
Some youth long for a sense of identity. Members of minority groups, for instance, feel a sense of solitude and insecurity hence they are motivated by the need for social relationships to join a community or school gang. Adolescence stage is one key factor that pushes youth to join groups that would help them to solve related social adjustment problems. The tribulations associated with adolescence make it easier for peer pressure to manipulate one into joining gangs. Peer pressure is one of the dominant factors that easily sway the youth into joining gangs. Additionally, some youth are born to parents who are active or ex-gangsters. Their transition to gang membership becomes easy in such cases.
Pull factors include the economic and social opportunities that one gets by associating with gang members. The selling of illegal drugs, for instance, results in the generation of income as well as excitement. Gang membership has also been identified as a source of pride, prestige, and status among friends in a community. According to the National Gang Center, some youth think of gang membership as an effective way to show pride in their families, their neighborhood, and their cultures (National Gang Center, n. d).
It is easy to point out evidence of gang membership at school. As most youths join gangs in the 12-14 ages when adolescence age begins, parents and teachers must look out for signs that indicate the child has joined a gang. Gang activity in school is identified in such ways as the use of specific identifying colors among a group of students in their school supplies, room decorations, and clothes; talking about bringing weapons to school; having tattoos on hands, back, chest, and other body parts; changes in use of hand signs and gestures in greeting or communication; changes in mode of dressing with preference for certain colors; use of graffiti to mark territories within the school; posting images and messages on social media that reveal affiliation towards a certain gang; preference for gang-influence movies and music; unexplained goods and cash; suspicious activity indicating use of dr...