NCJ Number
148514
Date Published
1983
Length
23 pages
Annotation
A sample of 1,551 male and female Pennsylvania youth completed the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Impact Scales and a demographic questionnaire, designed to investigate the predictive power of gang pressure, negative labeling, access to educational and occupational roles, social alienation, self-esteem, sex, and age with regard to gang fight participation.
Abstract
The analysis demonstrated that normative peer pressure towards delinquency was the strongest predictive variable with respect to gang fight participation as reported by the youth. Youth-perceived negative labeling by teachers was the second strongest predictor. Seventy-four percent of the sample was correctly classified using the Impact Scales. Measures related to alienation, youth perceived access to social roles, youth perceived negative labeling by parents and peers, parental rejection, self-esteem, age, and sex were unrelated to gang fight participation levels. 5 tables, 7 notes, and 12 references