LAS 3020
December 5, 2017
The Caribbean is not a homogeneous region, every island is comprised of diverse features both geographically and culturally. These nations have multi-ethnic populations and vary in socio-economic conditions; however, some similarities include high youth unemployment, poverty, high crime rates, high levels of female headed household and failing education systems. Involvement in risk behaviors including gangs, alcohol and marijuana usage, cigarette smoking, delinquency, early sexual activity and violence are also prominent amongst Caribbean youth. The most commonly examined risk factors include peer and community influences, family influences, socioeconomic status, relationships with their parents and schools and individual characteristics. Adolescent risk behaviors are not unique to the Caribbean, it is a global concern and it is important to study the factors in order to try and prevent these behaviors. One concern that is often brought up when discussing youth in the Caribbean is gang involvement. Over the years, gangs have expanded in the Caribbean and have shifted to more sophisticated leadership with political agendas and organized roles. As youths are being exposed to delinquents in schools and in the community, they are more susceptible to gang membership and more inclined to participate in risky behaviors.
Carolyn Gentle-Genitty, Jangmin Kim, Eun-Hye Yi, Douglas Slater, Beverly Reynolds and Natasha Bragg conducted a Comprehensive assessment of youth violence in five Caribbean countries; Gender and age differences in which they tried to get better understanding of the nature of youth violence in Caribbean communities and to find preventative measure in order to reduce violence. The five Caribbean nations that were included in the study were Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Results showed that males had higher violence engagement than females and older youths were more likely to engage in violence and witness crimes. Females reported higher risk of domestic violence and males reported more accessibility to drugs and weapons in schools. These results show the cultural milieu that is present in a lot of Caribbean cultures. The males are supposed to be stronger and fend for themselves while the females are seen as weak and fragile.
Furthermore, in the article Sex, violence and drugs among Latin American and Caribbean adolescents: Do engaged parents make a difference? written by Inder J. Ruprah, Ricardo Sierra and Heather Sutton studies whether parental engagement prevents risk behaviors in adolescents from Latin America and the Caribbean. This study examined primarily students between the ages of 13 and 17 from the Caribbean countries Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Their research showed that simply being male was an “important predictor of the likelihood of adolescents to engage in violent behavior, substance abuse and early sexual activity.” Skipping school was also associated with similar behaviors and recent depression or suicide attempts was correlated with “sexually risky behavior.” The results highlighted the importance of family to prevent these behaviors and the need for preventative programs in schools to avoid risk behaviors early on.
The Clustering of Risk Behaviors Among Caribbean Youth written by Sally-Anne Ohene, MD, Majorie Ireland, PhD, and Robert Wm Blum, MD, PhD discuss adolescent risk behaviors as well but specifically highlight the way in which these behaviors correlate with one another. During their study, they determined that the strongest correlations were use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana which is predictable. However, they also discovered that weapon-related violence and gang involvement was higher for males, but smoking cigarettes was not associated with these behaviors. Similarly, running away from home and skipping school was strongly associated with gang involvement for females. Actions such as alcohol use, cigarette use, marijuana use, skipping school, weapon-related violence and running away can be used to predict if youths in the Caribbean will be join or be recruited by gangs in their communities. Another important fact that came out of this study was the rate of non-consensual sex; “nearly half of adolescent girls in the Caribbean who are sexually active report that their first sexual experience was either forced or unwanted.”
Moreover, “youth gangs are pervasive worldwide and are particularly pronounced in societies with weak governance structures” and are feared because of their engagement in violence and crimes. Asheka Jackson discusses gang related crimes and youth involvement in them in her article titles Gang Risk Factors among Urban Jamaican Youth: A Qualitative Analysis. Her study emphasizes neighborhood characteristics such as access to drugs, feeling unsafe, low levels of attachment, high arrest rates and disorganization and how they correlate to gang membership. Other factors include family dynamics, educational aspirations, peer influences and individual moral and characteristics. Jackson uses political and economic troubles to explain the impact of gangs in Jamaica as well as to explain motivations that youths may have to join gangs. “Gangs are sometimes selected on their ability to protect their members…after being physically attacked on numerous occasions by gang members form the rival community…” A sense of immediate danger can cause youths to organize in to gangs because they feel a sense of protection when members of an organization.