While an increase in research on criminal desistance has occurred in recent years, little research has been applied to the gang field. Using qualitative interview data, this article examines fatherhood as a potential turning point in the lives of 91 gang members in the San Francisco Bay Area. Fatherhood initiated important subjective and affective transformations that led to changes in outlook, priorities and future orientation. However, these subjective changes were not sufficient unless accompanied by two additional features: first, changes in the amount of time spent on the streets and, second, an ability to support oneself or one's family with legal income. Though fatherhood is no panacea, becoming a father did act as an important turning point toward desistance and motivator for change for some.

Combining mind-altering substances, whether illegal or legal, has provoked calls of alarm and concern among drug researchers for over thirty years. Since then numerous studies have been conducted to trace the different prevalent combinations and emphasize the serious consequences for individuals who use two or more drugs at any given time. Recently, this concern has been heightened as a result of the evidence that polydrug use among young people is increasing, especially among those who attend electronic music dance parties. The aim of this paper is to explore the different drug combinations used by a group of young people who attend raves, clubs and dance parties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Based on in-depth interviews with 300 young people we explore not only the different substances combined, but the meanings given as to why such combinations are chosen. In exploring our respondents' accounts, we hope to highlight both the thinking behind their drug using practices and the range of procedures adopted by young people to enhance the pleasures they hope to achieve in taking different substances, and control any potential problems.

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We examine gender and meanings of risk in interviews (2007–2010) with gang-involved young men and women (n = 253) engaged in illicit drug sales in San Francisco, California. The in-depth interviews from this NIDA-funded study were coded using the software NVivo to identify patterns and themes. We examine their interpretations of the risks of drug-selling and their narratives about gender differences in these risks. We find distinct discourses regarding the role of femininities and masculinities and male and female bodies in shaping risk as well as the nexus between gender, family, and risk for female drug sellers.

This article examines the experiences of young women in street gangs who become mothers. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 65 young women in the San Francisco, CA, Bay Area, we examine their narratives about the transition to motherhood. In particular, we focus on the ways these young women negotiate femininities and attempt to reconcile their identities as young mothers and gang girls—both stigmatized identities. For many of the young women, motherhood entails a retreat from the street and a renewed emphasis on time spent in the home. While many receive (financial and childcare) support from their families, this also often means a diminution of the autonomy they experienced while more heavily involved in the gang. Issues of respect and respectability remain important for the young women, but the dimensions on which these are based change.