The Wall Gang: a study of interpersonal process and deviance among twenty-three middle-class youths

This paper reports the findings of a nonparticipant observational study of a "gang" of late-adolescent, middle-class youths in a Southern California beach community over an 11-year period. The significance of family background, interpersonal relationships in the home, and socialization processes were explored in relation to such factors as the use of drugs, sexual experiences, and other "deviant" behavior. The author also interviewed and interacted with other youths in the community of the same age range and similar socioeconomic background who were not members of the "gang." Case narration is supplemented by demographic data. The "gang" approximated Lewis Yablonsky's description of a "near-group." The youths were from above-average economic background, but 21 of the 23 "members" were from broken homes, frequently with multiple divorces and remarriages. The youths expressed attitudes of disgust with adult society and doubted the concern of their parents, particularly fathers and stepfathers, for their well-being. The youths sought out both "mother-figures" on whom they could be dependent for financial support as well as "father-figures" who would teach them to become independent. These "gang members" had erratic school and employment patterns. The types of drugs used by "nongang" youths, who had more stable family backgrounds, did not differ appreciably from those used by the "gang." The former group was distinguished in their use of drugs and alcohol by lower frequency and less tendency to use drugs in order to reduce anxiety or to facilitate their relations with the opposite sex.