What’s Sex (Composition) Got to Do with It? The Importance of Sex Composition of Gangs for Female and Male Members’ Offending and Victimization

Sex composition of groups has been theorized in organizational sociology and found in prior work to structure female and male members’ behaviors and experiences. Peer group and gang literature similarly finds that the sex gap in offending varies across groups of differing sex ratios. Drawing on this and other research linking gang membership, offending, and victimization, we examine whether sex composition of gangs is linked to sex differences in offending in this sample, further assess whether sex composition similarly structures females’ and males’ victimization experiences, and if so, why. Self-report data from gang members in a multi-site, longitudinal study of 3,820 youths are employed. Results support previous findings about variations in member delinquency by both sex and sex composition of the gang and also indicate parallel variations in members’ victimization. These results are further considered within the context of facilitating effects such as gender dynamics, gang characteristics, and normative orientation

Examining the Effect of Changes in the Peer Group on Attitudes: A Longitudinal Study

Peer interactions are an important part of adolescence and have been the focus of much research in both psychology and criminology. The relationship between peer behavior and a youth’s own behavior has been demonstrated multiple times in prior research. Little is known, however, about how peer behavior may affect individual attitudes. This is surprising given that many prevention programs, particularly skills building programs, focus on changing and shaping individual attitudes to change/prevent behavior. This dissertation partially addressed this gap by focusing on the relationship between peer behavior and individual attitudes. This dissertation accomplishes three main goals through the use of three waves of data from a multi-site sample of 3,820 middle school youth. First, this dissertation assessed the causal ordering surrounding the relationship between peer behavior and individual attitudes. Second, prior research has shown that peer groups hold both antisocial and prosocial values and norms, which can affect individual attitudes in both conforming and nonconforming ways. Therefore, this dissertation examined the relative effect of prosocial and antisocial peers as well as the effect of the ratio of prosocial to antisocial peers on attitudes. Finally, this study examined how attitudes change in relation to changes in the peer group

Examining Racial and Ethnic Variations in Reasons for Leaving a Youth Gang

Purpose One underrepresented area of research within the developmental and life course framework is how criminal careers vary across racial and ethnic lines. Similarly, little is known about how the processes surrounding leaving a youth gang differ based on the experiences of racial and ethnic minorities. This manuscript will help fill this gap in both bodies of literature by examining differences in push and pull motivations for gang desistance across black, Hispanic, and white youth who reside in seven different cities across the USA. Methods The mixed-method analysis relies on grounded theory techniques to identify themes in the qualitative interviews as well as provides a quantitative comparison of gang desistance motivations. Results Black youth were least likely to report pulls associated with prosocial attachments and were also least likely to report being disillusioned with intragang relationships. Hispanic youth most commonly reported pulls associated with parental encouragement and experiencing official sanctions and pushes centered on direct and vicarious violent experiences. White youth most commonly reported pulls associated with having a significant other and pushes including feelings of disillusionment with intragang relationships. Conclusion While there is evidence that street socialization and social isolation uniquely impact the gang desistance decisions of black gang youth, these differences might not be enough to justify race-specific intervention programs

Leaving the Gang: A Review and Thoughts on Future Research

Researchers have examined aspects of gangs and their members for almost a century. This work, however, focuses primarily on youth prior to joining as well as during gang involvement. While comparatively less is known about the leaving processes, work in this area has been increasing in recent years. This chapter will discuss the growing body of research on the processes associated with leaving the gang. Specifically, it will review difficulties associated with defining gang desistance, theoretical perspectives on desistance, variations in motives, methods, and consequences of leaving, barriers to desistance, as well as make recommendations for policy and future research

Gangs in School: Exploring the Experiences of Gang-Involved Youth

This study explores three questions: (1) What are the criteria that current or formerly gang-involved youth use to identify the presence of gangs in school? (2) Do gang activities produce incivilities and victimizations within the school context? and (3) What is the impact of a gang presence on youth in the school, specifically with respect to the presence or absence of fear? We examine the influence of gangs in schools through qualitative analysis of 180 in-depth semistructured interviews. The sample includes youth with varying levels of gang involvement who attended schools across the United States. Youth relied on personal knowledge and visual cues to identify gangs in their school. Despite the occurrence of vicarious victimizations and incivilities at the hands of gang youth, respondents indicated that gangs did not impact their school life. These youth frequently used normalization and delimitation processes to deal with gangs in their school

Differentiating Between Delinquent Groups and Gangs: Moving Beyond Offending Consequences

Even when controlling for high levels of delinquent peers, gang youth differ from their nongang counterparts on a variety of attitudinal and behavioral measures. Researchers have argued that differences can be attributed to the group processes present in the gang setting. This study explores the extent to which differences between youth in a gang and those in a delinquent group can be explained by Bandura’s social cognitive theory. Much of the prior research in this arena has relied on cross-sectional data; in this study, we expand on this prior research using fixed-effects modeling strategies with a multi-site panel of youth. The results comparing time periods when youth were in a gang versus a delinquent peer group indicate that gang-involved youth are more violent and have fewer conventional bonds. This work is able to advance our knowledge on attitudinal and behavioral differences between gangs and other types of peer groups

An Experimental Trial of a Dog-Training Program in a Juvenile Detention Center

Objectives This research examines the effect of a dog-training program among juveniles ordered to a county juvenile detention facility in a large, Midwestern city. Methods A pre-test, post-test experimental design was constructed to examine changes in self-esteem, empathy, optimism, pessimism, compassion, and social competence between juveniles who were randomly assigned to the canine-assisted activity program and to the standard conditions of the detention center without access to the program. Two-way and repeated measures ANOVA models are used to assess the differential effect of the program. Results The dog-training program evaluated in this study did not differentially benefit nor did it harm participants in relation to juveniles who received the standard operating practices and procedures of the detention center. Conclusions Generalized conclusions about the effectiveness of dog-training programs in secure correctional facilities should not be made from this study. Despite the unique program model structure used in this study, the results demonstrate that once selection effects are mitigated through randomization, the mere exposure to a dog-training program does not translate to improved outcomes. The results raise more questions about the influence of selection effects on reported findings and stimulate inquiry on dog-training program models, research designs used to assess program effects, and the importance of intermediate interventions

School Transitions as a Turning Point for Gang Status

The study of gangs corresponds well with life course perspectives of crime as the onset, persistence, and desistance from crime parallel the stages of gang membership. This literature commonly draws on turning points to explain the onset and desistance from criminal behavior, which are often synonymous with life transitions such as marriage, military duty, employment –even gang membership itself. In this study we draw on life course perspectives to examine the impact of a specific life transition that is common during adolescence, school transitions, on a youth’s gang status as well as variables associated with a turning point in the life course. Specifically, we focus on two competing relationships that school mobility can serve as the impetus for joining a gang, or alternatively, act as a ‘hook for change’ and facilitate gang leaving. We use a mixed-methods approach by first drawing on qualitative data that examined desisted gang members and their interpretation of their school transition experiences. Second, consistent with a grounded theory approach, we examined these relationships quantitatively using a panel study of youth followed over a five-year period

What’s Sex (Composition) Got to Do with It? The Importance of Sex Composition of Gangs for Female and Male Members’ Offending and Victimization

Sex composition of groups has been theorized in organizational sociology and found in prior work to structure female and male members’ behaviors and experiences. Peer group and gang literature similarly finds that the sex gap in offending varies across groups of differing sex ratios. Drawing on this and other research linking gang membership, offending, and victimization, we examine whether sex composition of gangs is linked to sex differences in offending in this sample, further assess whether sex composition similarly structures females’ and males’ victimization experiences, and if so, why. Self-report data from gang members in a multi-site, longitudinal study of 3,820 youths are employed. Results support previous findings about variations in member delinquency by both sex and sex composition of the gang and also indicate parallel variations in members’ victimization. These results are further considered within the context of facilitating effects such as gender dynamics, gang characteristics, and normative orientation

Using Agnewís General Strain Theory to Explain the Relationship Between Early Victimization and Deviant Behavior

This study used Agnew\u27s General Strain Theory to examine the relationship between early victimization and deviant behavior, as well as the mediating effects through negative emotions and social bonds. This study draws on developmental psychology literature and general strain literature to develop its hypotheses. Also, it expands the current research in developmental psychology and general strain theory by operationalizing strain as early victimization and using (a) dichotomous measures of alcohol use, drug use, and delinquency, (b) measures of frequency of binge drinking, drug use, and delinquency, (c) and measures of age of first binge drinking and drug use. Data from the National Survey of Adolescents, a cross-sectional national probability sample of 4,023 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, was used to test the hypotheses. Tobit and logistic regression analyses were used to examine the mediating effects of friend and family problems, school problems, and depression and suicidal thoughts. The results show that when youth are sexually or physically assaulted at a young age they have an increased odds of participating in alcohol use, drug use and delinquency, use drugs and binge drink more frequently, are younger when they first take part in drug use and binge drinking, and they participate in more delinquent acts. These relationships were only partially mediated by the presence of friend and family problems, school problems, and depression and suicidal thoughts. These findings indicate early victimization is able to explain participation in alcohol, drugs, and delinquency as well as explain an increase in the frequency of these acts. In addition, early victimization leads to an early age of onset of binge drinking and drug use. These results show support for general strain theory and indicate the importance of examining early strains