U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Gang Membership as a Turning Point in the Life Course

NCJ Number
235091
Journal
Criminology Volume: 49 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2011 Pages: 513-552
Author(s)
Chris Melde; Finn-Aage Esbensen
Date Published
May 2011
Length
40 pages
Annotation

This study examined the influence of gang membership on crime and delinquency.

Abstract

Gang-involved youth are disproportionately involved in criminal behavior, especially violence. The processes accounting for this enhanced illegal activity, however, remain speculative. Employing a life-course perspective, the authors propose that gang membership can be conceptualized as a turning point in the lives of youth and is thus associated with changes in emotions, attitudes, and routine activities, which, in turn, increase illegal activity. Using prospective data from a multisite sample of more than 1,400 youth, the findings suggest that the onset of gang membership is associated with a substantial change in emotions, attitudes, and social controls conducive to delinquency and partially mediate the impact of gang membership on delinquent activity. Desistance from gangs, however, was not associated with similar systematic changes in these constructs, including delinquent involvement. (Published Abstract)