Table 1: Risk Factors for Youth Gang Membership
Domain |
Risk Factors |
Sources |
|
Community |
Social disorganization, including poverty and residential mobility |
Curry and Spergel, 1988 |
|
Organized lowerclass communities |
Miller, 1958; Moore, 1991 |
|
Underclass communities |
Bursik and Grasmick, 1993; Hagedorn, 1988; Moore, 1978, 1985, 1988, 1991; Moore, Vigil, and Garcia, 1983; Sullivan, 1989 |
|
Presence of gangs in the neighborhood |
Curry and Spergel, 1992 |
|
Availability of drugs in the neighborhood |
Curry and Spergel, 1992; Hagedorn, 1988, 1994a, 1994b; Hill et al., in press; Kosterman et al., 1996; Moore, 1978, 1991; Sanchez-Jankowski, 1991; Taylor, 1989 |
|
Availability of firearms |
Lizotte et al., 1994; Miller, 1992; Newton and Zimring, 1969 |
|
Barriers to and lack of social and economic opportunities |
Cloward and Ohlin, 1960; Cohen, 1960; Fagan, 1990; Hagedorn, 1988, 1994b; Klein, 1995; Moore, 1990; Short and Strodtbeck, 1965; Vigil, 1988 |
|
Lack of social capital |
Short, 1996; Sullivan, 1989; Vigil, 1988 |
|
Cultural norms supporting gang behavior |
Miller, 1958; Short and Strodtbeck, 1965 |
|
Feeling unsafe in neighborhood; high crime |
Kosterman et al., 1996; Vigil, 1988 |
|
Conflict with social control institutions |
Vigil, 1988 |
|
Family |
Family disorganization, including broken homes and parental drug/alcohol abuse |
Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993; Hill et al., in press; Vigil, 1988 |
|
Troubled families, including incest, family violence, and drug addiction |
Moore, 1978, 1991; Vigil, 1988 |
|
Family members in a gang |
Curry and Spergel, 1992; Moore, 1991; Moore, Vigil, and Garcia, 1983 |
|
Lack of adult male role models |
Miller, 1958; Vigil, 1988 |
|
Lack of parental role models |
Wang, 1995 |
|
Low socioeconomic status |
Almost all studies |
|
Extreme economic deprivation, family management problems, parents with violent attitudes, sibling antisocial behavior |
Hill et al., in press; Kosterman et al., 1996 |
|
School |
Academic failure |
Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Curry and Spergel, 1992; Kosterman et al., 1996 |
|
Low educational aspirations, especially among females |
Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Hill et al., in press; Kosterman et al., 1996 |
|
Negative labeling by teachers |
Esbensen and Huizinga, 1993; Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993 |
|
Trouble at school |
Kosterman et al., 1996 |
|
Few teacher role models |
Wang, 1995 |
|
Educational frustration |
Curry and Spergel, 1992 |
|
Low commitment to school, low school attachment, high levels of antisocial behavior in school, low achievement test scores, and identification as
being learning disabled |
Hill et al., in press |
|
Peer Group |
High commitment to delinquent peers |
Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Esbensen and Huizinga, 1993; Vigil and Yun, 1990 |
|
Low commitment to positive peers |
Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993 |
|
Street socialization |
Vigil, 1988 |
|
Gang members in class |
Curry and Spergel, 1992 |
|
Friends who use drugs or who are gang members |
Curry and Spergel, 1992 |
|
Friends who are drug distributors |
Curry and Spergel, 1992 |
|
Interaction with delinquent peers |
Hill et al., in press; Kosterman et al., 1996 |
|
Individual |
Prior delinquency |
Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Curry and Spergel, 1992; Esbensen and Huizinga, 1993; Kosterman et al., 1996 |
|
Deviant attitudes |
Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993;
Fagan, 1990; Hill et al., in press;
Kosterman et al., 1996 |
|
Street smartness; toughness |
Miller, 1958 |
|
Defiant and individualistic character |
Miller, 1958; Sanchez-Jankowski, 1991 |
|
Fatalistic view of the world |
Miller, 1958 |
|
Aggression |
Campbell, 1984a, 1984b; Cohen, 1960; Horowitz, 1983; Miller, Geertz, and Cutter, 1962; Sanchez-Jankowski, 1991 |
|
Proclivity for excitement and trouble |
Miller, 1958; Pennell et al., 1994 |
|
Locura (acting in a daring, courageous, and especially crazy fashion in the face of adversity) |
Moore, 1991; Vigil, 1988 |
|
Higher levels of normlessness in the context of family, peer group, and school |
Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993 |
|
Social disabilities |
Short and Strodtbeck, 1965; Vigil, 1988 |
|
Illegal gun ownership |
Bjerregaard and Lizotte, 1995; Lizotte et al., 1994; Vigil and Long, 1990 |
|
Early or precocious sexual activity, especially among females |
Kosterman et al., 1996; Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993 |
|
Alcohol and drug use |
Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Curry and Spergel, 1992; Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993; Hill et al., in press; Thornberry et al., 1993; Vigil and Long, 1990 |
|
Drug trafficking |
Fagan, 1990; Thornberry et al., 1993 |
|
Desire for group rewards such as status, identity, self-esteem, companionship, and protection |
Curry and Spergel, 1992; Fagan, 1990; Horowitz, 1983; Horowitz and Schwartz, 1974; Moore, 1978, 1991; Short and Strodtbeck, 1965 |
|
Problem behaviors, hyperactivity, externalizing behaviors, drinking, lack of refusal skills, and early sexual activity |
Hill et al., in press; Kosterman et al., 1996 |
|
Victimization |
Fagan, 1990 |
|
|
Youth Gangs: An Overview |
Juvenile Justice Bulletin
· August 1998 |
|