ABSTRACT
Among the many experiences that gang members undergo, none is more crucial than the adolescent psychosocial moratorium. According to developmental psychologist Erik Erikson (1956, 1963, 1968), the psychosocial moratorium is the marginal status crisis in the passage from childhood to adulthood. Street-socialized males in low-income neighborhoods are especially affected by this transition. During this phase, the boys become tentative and confused about their age and gender identity while learning to cope within an often violent, maledominated street culture. The personal psychological struggle that occurs in this context is sometimes overwhelming. This “storm and stress” situation triggers many attitudinal and behavioral shifts in individuals, irrespective of environment, that render them unpredictable and ambivalent. Being raised in the streets can make this human development phase even more difficult and problematic, twisting and skewing options and opportunities in detrimental ways.
