Gangues juvenis em Portugal

: contextualização do fenómeno na perspetiva de profissionais

Abstract

This study belongs to a broad study named ITACA – Interaction of different subjects Towards A strategic Common Answer concerning juvenile gangs2, which has the goal to implement a multilevel analysis of the juvenile gangs phenomenon in Europe, intending to create a common vision of this subject to better understand it and consequently identify recommendations to implement efficient practices in the treatment and prevention of this phenomenon. The goal of the study is to characterize the juvenile gang phenomenon in Portugal through the expert’s speech, namely those elements which are closer to the youngster who may be involved in juvenile gangs. Additionally, it’s our goal to understand if the role represented by these experts, whether they represent authority figures or figures of psychosocial intervention, interferes with their speech about different dimensions of the phenomenon. This study has a qualitative nature and the 13 participants presented their speech through an interview. From the data analysis, it was possible to understand which are the most highlighted dimensions of the juvenile gang phenomenon in Portugal, particularly in terms of its definition, the motivations of young people to affiliate themselves with gangs, the facilitating conditions for this to happen, the characteristics of the members, the distribution of the phenomenon, among others, as well as the most important dimensions for experts considering their role. The relevance of this study lies in the lack of existing data in Portugal on this subject, meaning that the increase of knowledge about the subject fulfills the ITACA’s goal of creating insight into the juvenile gang phenomenon to better understand it.

Date of Award	8 Jul 2013
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Raquel Matos (Supervisor)