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Risk Factors Associated With Gang Joining Among Youth

NCJ Number
177495
Journal
Journal of Gang Research Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: Winter 1999 Pages: 1-18
Author(s)
Sandra S. Stone Ph.D.
Date Published
1999
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This survey was conducted by the National Gang Crime Research Center to improve understanding of all facets of gang involvement.
Abstract
The question of why young people join gangs has plagued successive generations of parents, teachers, public safety officials, community leaders, and policymakers for more than a century. Numerous theories have been proposed to explain psychological and sociological conditions that result in juvenile gang formation. During the spring and summer of 1996, 29 researchers in 17 different States surveyed about 10,000 young people and adults in a variety of correctional settings. About 4,000 of the respondents reported they had been a gang member at some point and close to two-thirds said they were active gang members at the time of the survey. The survey, referred to as Project GANGFACT (Gang Field Assessment of Crime Threat), used self-report methods to obtain data from gang members. The goal was to study gang members in various social contexts. Respondent age varied between 9 and 73 years; 50 percent were under 18 years of age and 73 percent were 25 years of age or younger. Approximately 89 percent of respondents were males and 11 percent were females; 30 percent were white, 52 percent were black, 10 percent were Hispanic. In terms of family structure, 39 percent had two-parent families, 53 percent lived in mother-headed households, and 9 percent lived in father-headed households. Findings revealed both differences and similarities between males and females. For young people for whom money was an important factor in the decision to join a gang, males generally exhibited more antisocial characteristics than females. Males also tended to consider economic factors more than females in the decision to join a gang. These factors involved whether they had access to legitimate opportunities and whether they were able to get a good job and support a family. In addition, educational status appeared to be a more important factor for males than for females. Although protection to be a more important reason overall to join a gang for females than for males, there seemed to be two different groups within each gender who joined a gang for protection--victims and aggressors. For young people who joined a gang due to a lack of alternative activities, males appeared to be more antisocial, more immersed in a delinquent subculture, and more motivated by economic concerns. For both males and females, risk factors were present in all major facets of their lives, the number of risk factors and life components varied somewhat by gender. 15 references and 8 tables