ADOLESCENT
GROUPS – GANGS
Gang
Age:
Revolutionary
changes occur in a child’s social behavior when he starts going to school. In
the school he comes in contact with other children whose company is a new
society for him. Now he does not like to play only with the children of his
neighborhood. He does not like to go to a function or for outing with his
parents or older brother or sisters. He now loves group plays instead of individual
play. This is the ‘gang age’ of the child. His social development goes on at
fast pace at this stage.
The child himself organizes his gang for realizing some of his needs. He
tries to achieve with the help of his gang what the society of adults has
denied him. In his gang he learns many such social things which he cannot learn
easily in the company of adults.
The period between six or seven years and twelve years is known as later
childhood. During this period boys and girls prefer the company of their sex.
They do not like to miss their company even for a day. The gang greatly
influences the life of children. In the gang the child learns elements of good
and bad behavior, styles or dressing and many kinds of games and plays.
Sex
Differences in Gangs:
Like boys, girls do not enjoy freedom for outing because of our social
traditions and their natural physical limitations. Therefore, the gang
influences the behavior of boys more. Many girls have to share domestic duties
after school hours. Therefore they get less time to mix with their friends.
Many parents maintain strict vigil on movements of their daughters, because
they think that home is the proper place for them. However, some girls also
succeed in forming their own gang consisting of girlfriends of the immediate
neighborhood. This gang organizes at times some indoor games or some cultural
activities on a small scale. This gang meets at the house of some member of the
gang itself.
