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Social Learning Theory, Self-Report Delinquency, and Youth Gangs

NCJ Number
152673
Journal
Youth and Society Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: (December 1994) Pages: 147-177
Author(s)
L T Winfree Jr; T V Backstrom; G L Mays
Date Published
1994
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This study examines the usefulness of applying selected elements of social learning theory to adolescents' involvement in youth gangs.
Abstract
A sample of 138 boys and 59 girls attending 9th grade in New Mexico, 75 percent of whom were of Hispanic origin, completed a self-report questionnaire in which they indicated how often they had engaged in serious youthful misconduct (theft, other property crimes, general personal crimes, drug-related crimes, or group- context personal crimes). A combination of self-definitional and criterion methods were used to determine whether the youth was a gang member. Social learning measures incorporated into the analysis referred to differential associations, reinforcements, and definitions. The results of the analysis showed that social learning variables distinguished gang members from non-gang members more than personal-biographical characteristics, including gender, ethnic groups, or place of residence, did. The three variables that were consistently associated with the level of self-reported misconduct: higher identification with pro-gang attitudes, higher levels of offending among urban youth than rural youth, and higher levels of self-reported delinquency among males than among females. 3 tables, 8 notes, 77 references, and 1 appendix

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