Intergroup fighting among male high school students in Jakarta -Tawuran

Tawuran (indonesian for inter group fighting/ gang brawl) has been a serious problem for more than 20 years, because more than 100 students have been killed, thousands of students have been injured, and hundreds of public property as well as vehicles have been damaged in tawuran incidents (Mansoer, 2000)
Evolutionary Study of Tawuran
Winarini Mansoer (2000) examined the development of the tradition of intergroup fighting (tawuran) between high school students in Jakarta, and the reasons why students become involved. A social-psychological approach using social identity theory (e.g., Hogg & Abrams, 1988) and reputation enhancement theory (e.g., Emler & Reicher, 1995) was used to examine how the individual’s social identity and reputation management is contextually framed within the school and in the rival peer crowds (Basis) that are the vehicles for intergroup contact and conflict, including investigation of these influences in specific tawuran incidents. Mansoer (2000) method of data collection was mainly using semi-structured interviews with the addition of photographs, the police records and mass media clippings. The participants were 107 students and 20 teachers in 20 high schools and 20 students who were incarcerated in Jakarta.
Findings
The results indicated that
*within the school context, the social categorisation of schools as tawuran schools influenced -student stereotyping towards other schools and prejudice that -they were always threatened by their enemy schools whenever they have contacts with them when travelling to and from school. Thus, in order to handle this situation, students in tawuran schools formed peer crowds (Basis) based on their bus routes.
*Student involvement in tawuran follows the path of membership in a Basis in an unsafe route, where students had more opportunities to contact and to fight with the enemies.
*Student involvement in tawuran was related to social identification with the Basis. Students believed that only through conformity to the group in respect of its norms and solidarity with others they could secure their safety.
*student involvement in tawuran could be seen in relation to reputation management processes at group level within the context of intergroup conflict between Basis.
*Students involved in tawuran sought a group reputation of a tough and famous Basis by each member showing bravery and solidarity with the others in the group.
*However, student involvement in tawuran could be switched on and off according to the contexts which reflects the salience of Basis membership followed their grades, the cycle of the school year and everyday activities.
*Through interviews with actual participants of specific tawuran events, it was found that students' violent behaviour was mainly influenced by ingroup-outgroup categorisation processes that saw students from opponent schools as their enemy.
*Students were more influenced by the mass crowd context of tawuran which creates deindividuation of personal identity in favour of collective identity, rather than by ingroup reputation management processes.

Stakeholder Collaboration
Given the specific socio-cultural context of Jakarta, many factors of high school student life have influenced tawuran. Mansoer (2000) sugest that in order to overcome tawuran, there should be a comprehensive understanding of tawuran as intergroup behaviour. Moreover, many elements within the community (i.e., school authorities, law and order forces, policy makers, and mass media) should cooperate to create different contexts which provide safety for students, and enable students to promote their positive social identity and reputation through collaboration among high schools in activities that could also fulfil adolescent needs for risk-taking.

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