New Zealand Youth Gangs: Key Findings and Recommendations from an Urban Ethnography

Erin J. Eggleston

Focused on the aim of understanding the experience of youth in gangs, this study used participant-observation as a method for entering the semi-secretive youth gang world and thematic analysis to examine youth talk from fifty-four recorded interviews. Results suggest themes of belonging, gender, vulnerability and trouble. Key discussion issues include a working definition for the New Zealand youth gang, why New Zealand youth are so influenced by American cultural icons, concerns related to gender development, and suggestions for future research topics.