Childhood Risk Factors for Adolescent Gang Membership: Results from the Seattle Social Development Project

Abstract

Adolescents who join gangs are more frequently involved in serious delinquency compared with those who do not, yet few studies have conducted a prospective examination of risk factors for gang membership. The present study uses longitudinal data to predict gang membership in adolescence from factors measured in childhood. Data were from the Seattle Social Development Project, an ethnically diverse, gender-balanced sample (n = 808) followed prospectively from age 10 to 18. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors at ages 10 through 12 predictive of joining a gang between the ages of 13 and 18. Neighborhood, family, school, peer, and individual factors significantly predicted joining a gang in adolescence. Youth exposed to multiple factors were much more likely to join a gang. Implications for the development of gang prevention interventions are discussed.

Adolescent gang involvement: The role of individual, family, peer, and school factors in a multilevel perspective

“…Researchers have identified a number of risk and protective factors for gang membership in five major domains: individual, family, peer, school, and community contexts (Esbensen, Peterson, Taylor, & Freng, 2009 At the individual level, the role of attitudes and behavior represents one of the most robust findings: having a prior history of delinquency, as well as holding nonconventional attitudes, has been associated with a higher risk of being a gang member Gottfredson & Gottfredson, 2001;Hill, Howell, Hawkins, & Battin-Pearson, 1999;Klein & Maxson, 2006;Thornberry et al, 2003). Past research also highlights the influence of moral attitudes on gang membership, showing that a low perception of guilt for potential deviance, a higher tolerance for deviance (Esbensen, Huizinga, & Weiher, 1993), and the use of neutralization and moral disengagement strategies to justify antisocial behavior increase the risk of being affiliated with a gang Esbensen et al, 2009;Winfree, Backstrom, & Mays, 1994 (Klein & Maxson, 2006), being male, and being an ethnic minority (Farmer & Hairston, 2013) have been found to increase the likelihood of affiliating with a gang.…”

Street gang theory and research: Where are we now and where do we go from here?

“…In such a cultural climate gang membership becomes a satisfying alternative to unsatisfactory legitimate conventions. If family, school, church and government all fail to adequately provide for young people young people will form indigenous groups such as gangs which provide a social support system in socially disorganized communities (Spergel, 1995;Hill, Howell, Hawkins, & Battin-Pearson, 1999;Lane & Meeker, 2004;Papachristos & Kirk, 2006). This group formation and the criminality that emanates from it are passed from generation to generation via socialization, motivating young people to deviate from conventional norms.…”

“…Where there are street gangs there is also likely to be poverty, victimization, fear, and social disorganization (Chin, 1996;Goldstein 1991;Howell, Egley & Gleason, 2002;Huff 1996;Klein 1995;Knox 1994;Spergel, 1995) and low socioeconomic status (Chettleburgh, 2007;Rizzo, 2003). Young people living in neighborhoods with high rates of delinquency are more likely to commit delinquent acts than are their counterparts living in areas of low delinquency (Hill, et al, 1999;Hill, Lui, & Hawkins, 2001) and gang members have higher rates of delinquency than their non-gang counterparts before becoming involved in gangs (Eitle, Gunkel, & van Gundy, 2004; Running head: Street gangs theory research gang membership and family members who are criminally involved (Eitle et al, 2004;Hill et al, 2001;Kakar, 2005;Maxson, Whitlock, & Klein, 1998;Sirpal, 2002;Sharp, Aldridge, & Medina, 2006), and/or are gang members themselves (Spergel, 1995). Mixing with delinquent peers has been identified as a precursor to gang membership (Amato & Cornell, 2003;Esbensen & Weerman, 2005;Hill et al, 1999;Hill et al, 2001;Kakar, 2005;Maxson et al, 1998;Sharp et al, 2006), as has peer pressure to commit delinquent activities (Esbensen & Weerman, 2005).…”

Fear of crime, incivilities, and collective efficacy in four Miami neighborhoods

“…There is a well-established connection between neighborhood conditions and well known deleterious conditions including serious violent crime (Bursik & Grasmick, 1993;Messner & Tardiff, 1986;Sampson & Groves, 1989), gang membership (Hill, Howell, Hawkins, & Battin-Pearson, 1999), school problems (Kirk, 2009;McCluskey, Patchin, & Bynum, 2004), and fear of crime (Wyant, 2008). Neighborhoods play important roles in the lives of those that live, work, and socialize in their boundaries.…”