“Every Thought and Dream a Nightmare”: Violence and Trauma Among Formerly Imprisoned Gang Members

• Author: Shytierra Gaston,Faraneh Shamserad,Beth M. Huebner
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00938548211040099
• Published date: 01 October 2022
• Date: 01 October 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2022, Vol. 49, No. 10, October 2022, 1418 –1436.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548211040099

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2021 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

1418

“EVERY THOUGHT AND DREAM A

NIGHTMARE”

Violence and Trauma Among Formerly

Imprisoned Gang Members

SHYTIERRA GASTON

Georgia State University

FARANEH SHAMSERAD

BETH M. HUEBNER

University of Missouri–St. Louis

Persons involved in gangs disproportionately participate in violence, as both victims and perpetrators. However, much

remains unknown about the prevalence and consequences of violence exposure among adult gang members, particularly

among those who have been incarcerated. We draw on semi-structured interviews with formerly imprisoned gang members

to provide a contextualized account of the continuum of violence before, during, and after prison and illuminate the conse-

quences of cumulative violence exposure among an understudied subgroup at greatest risk for violence. Findings show that

adult gang members experience frequent and ongoing exposure to serious violence, as both victims and perpetrators, before,

during, and after prison, and directly and vicariously. Although direct involvement in violence dissipated after prison, expo-

sure to vicarious victimization was substantial and ongoing. In addition, respondents reported physiological and psychologi-

cal consequences related to their chronic exposure to violence and trauma, including nightmares, anxiety, fear, anger, and

hypervigilance.

Keywords: gangs; violence; victimization; trauma; incarceration; prisoner reentry

INTRODUCTION

Gangs and gang membership are a focal concern for researchers, policymakers, and pub-

lic health and criminal justice officials, particularly as gang violence continues to be a major

source of violence in the United States (Huebner et al., 2016; Papachristos et al., 2012).

Homicide victimization rates for gang members are 100 times greater than that of the gen-

eral population (Decker & Pyrooz, 2010), and the mortality rates from other causes of death

AUTHORS’ NOTE: Partial funding for this project was provided by the University of Missouri–St. Louis Arts

and Sciences Dean’s Research Award. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Shytierra

Gaston, Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3992, Atlanta, GA

30302; e-mail: sgaston9@gsu.edu.

1040099CJBXXX10.1177/00938548211040099Criminal Justice and BehaviorGaston et al. / Violence and Trauma Among Gang Members

research-article2021

Gaston et al. / VIOLENCE AND TRAUMA AMONG GANG MEMBERS 1419

for this group are higher than that of the population as a whole and Black males specifically

(Pyrooz et al., 2020). Extant research has documented a wide range of adverse consequences

associated with gang membership, including heightened levels of victimization, substance

abuse, and educational and economic hardship (Gilman et al., 2014).

Furthermore, while an impressive body of research has documented the mechanisms

linking gang membership with offending, studies examining the increased risk of victimiza-

tion of gang members is comparatively limited, particularly among adult samples. The lit-

erature suggests that violence perpetration and, more generally, risky lifestyles may explain

the link between gang membership and victimization (Fox, 2013; Taylor et al., 2007) and

that exposure to violence and trauma is related to violence perpetration, an association that

is reciprocal (Begle et al., 2011). Relative to their nongang counterparts, gang-involved

individuals experience disproportionate levels of violence and trauma during their lives

(Quinn et al., 2017), and exposure to violence and trauma has been identified as a risk factor

of gang membership (Li et al., 2002). However, the nuances and consequences of exposure

to violence and traumatic experiences related to gang involvement have been relatively

unexplored.

The literature underscores uneven violence risks across the population wherein persons

who are residents of disadvantaged urban areas, gang involved, and/or incarcerated in cor-

rectional settings are susceptible to participating in violence—as victims and perpetrators.

In the current study, using data from in-depth qualitative interviews, we examine the experi-

ences and impacts of violence among a unique sample of men who sit at the intersection of

these risks: adult formerly imprisoned gang members reentering disadvantaged urban areas.

We contribute to the literature by providing firsthand accounts from formerly imprisoned

adult gang members about the continuum of violence and trauma across three different

contexts: before, during, and after prison. Such a contextualized, nuanced exploration helps

to elucidate the mechanisms through which disproportionate exposure to violence and

trauma perpetuates violence continuity. This focus adds to the literature on gangs, violence,

and corrections simultaneously by illuminating the experiences of adults rather than youth

gang members, by studying gang violence at a multitude of periods, and by uncovering the

experiences and impacts of violence among an understudied subpopulation at greatest risk

for violence. Overall, the study results point to violence and trauma as an unmet need in

U.S. correctional programming, including prerelease and postrelease treatments, for per-

sons with gang histories. Prior to presenting the current study, however, we first situate it

within relevant bodies of U.S.-based literature given our analysis of a nonrepresentative

sample from the United States.

LITERATURE REVIEW

VICTIM–PERPETRATOR OVERLAP

Compared with crime and victimization of other types, violence occurs in relative rarity

but unequally across race and place, generally concentrating in urban disadvantaged areas

where Black and Latinx persons are likely to live (Mrug et al., 2016; Opara et al., 2020).

Exposure to violence traditionally begins at a young age and continues to intensify into

adulthood; approximately 60% of youth witness violence, crime, or abuse by young adult-

hood and most are exposed to multiple types of victimization (Finkelhor et al., 2015). Often

referred to as the “victim-offender” overlap (Jennings et al., 2012), prior research also