ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the main characteristics of 'gang dynamics', both in terms of internal and external gang structures, referring only to those aspects of group dynamics that clearly differentiate them from gang dynamics. It starts with a reference to the assessment of an adolescent girl which should help us to focus on some aspects of group dynamics. Some aspects of the authors' work with a patient might help to clarify the gang's characteristic mode of functioning. The first reference to a beckoning from destructive parts of the personality is to be found in Sigmund Freud's case history of 'The Ratman', in which he describes the patient being given injunctions to commit a crime by internal voices he refers to as 'agents provocateurs'. In the same case history, Freud refers to the patient's personality as being split into three very different characters.
