Triadization as a Rite of Passage: Conceptualizing the Links between Youth Gangs and Adult-Based Secret Societies in Singapore

Abstract

This research explores the structural connections between delinquent youth groups, youth gangs, and adult-based secret societies in an economically deprived neighbourhood in Singapore, using the concept of ‘triadization’ to analyze how youth gang members are socialized into a broader criminal subculture. Drawing on ethnographic research, the findings reveal a complex, symbiotic relationship between neighbourhood-based groups, youth gangs, and adult criminal organizations. This relationship enables youth members to gain social support, access learning structures for upward criminal mobility, and secure alternative pathways to status and material rewards. However, the progression from street-level delinquency to organized crime is not linear or straightforward; rather, it is mediated by structural inequalities, particularly along racial lines, during the transition from youth gangs to adult criminal networks. While race has been a key analytical variable in global gang research, its role within multi-ethnic secret societies remains underexplored. This research examines the dynamics of the uneven distribution of roles and risks within multi-ethnic secret societies and the implications for social mobility within criminal subcultures, highlighting the intersections of race, social capital, and criminal pathways in multi-ethnic contexts.