Gang Involvement - Subject Baseline
This measure appears in the following time-points: Baseline.
Related Construct
Description of Measure
This measure includes a series of questions that assess the youth's gang involvement currently and in the past. The questions are taken mainly from Thornberry, Lizotte, Krohn, Farnworth, and Jang, (1994) and Elliott (1990). If gang involvement is endorsed, additional items explore the youth's subjective experience of the gang (i.e. youth's position in the gang, the importance of the gang to the youth) and the cohesiveness of the gang (i.e. presence of identifying colors, rules of socialization).
We compute a variable to mark "ever in a gang". This variable combines items s0gang1 (member of gang now) and s0gang18 (member of a gang in the past) [s0gnginv]; Gang Involvement.
The following individual items are also available:
- Whether subject was a member of a gang in the 6months prior to coming into the juvenile justice system on this charge [S0Gang1]
- Gang code corresponding to the gang the subject was involved with in 6mo prior to detention [S0GangCode_Gang6mo]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - number of members in gang/posse [S0Gang5]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - age oldest member of gang/posse [S0Gang6]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - does gang/posse have any colors [S0Gang7]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - does gang/posse have any rules [S0Gang8]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - does gang/posse share money [S0Gang9]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - does gang/posse share drugs [S0Gang10]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - does gang/posse have punishment if break rules [S0Gang11]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - frequency of contact w/gang [S0Gang12]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - position in the gang/posse [S0Gang13]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - still a member of gang/posse [S0Gang15]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - how important is gang/posse to you [S0Gang16]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_Gang6mo - how many friends are NOT in this gang/posse [S0Gang17]
- Ever a member of a gang [S0Gang18]
- Gang code corresponding to the last gang the subject was involved with (if not in gang prior to coming to detention) [S0GangCode_GangEver]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_GangEver - number of members in gang/posse [S0Gang20]
- Regarding the gang in S0GangCode_GangEver - position in the gang/posse [S0Gang21]
- The next three variables will refer to either S0GangCode_Gang6mo or S0GangCode_GangEver (see "Data Issues" for further information).
- Subject age when joined this gang/posse [S0Gang23]
- How long in the gang/posse - converted to days [S0NDay9]
- Expect to be member when back on street [S0Gang27]
The Resistance to Peer Influence measure contains additional items regarding the subject's peers. Refer to "Psychological Development" construct for more information about the peer influence measure.
Data Issues
- In order to protect the confidential nature of the subject responses, the specific gang names have been converted to a unique number. In instances where the same gang name appears in both sites (e.g., Bloods), the same unique number is assigned to the gang, with PA codes ending with a 1, and AZ codes ending with a 2 to distinguish the sites.
- If the subject was not in a gang in the six months prior to coming into the juvenile justice system on the current charge (s0gang1 = no), then items s0gang5 through s0gang17 are skipped.
- If the subject was in a gang in the six months prior (s0gang1 = yes), then s0gang18 (ever in a gang) is skipped.
- If the subject was never in a gang (s0gang18), then items s0gang20 and s0gang21 are skipped.
- Data in items s0gang23, s0nday9 and s0gang27 will either refer to the gang from the prior six months (if s0gang1 = Yes, then these variables focus on s0gangcode_gang6mo), or to the gang from the "ever" marker (if s0gang18 = yes, then these variables focus on s0gangcode_gangever). Since s0gang18 is only asked if the subject was not in a gang in the prior six months, there will never be an instance where both s0gangcode_gang6mo and s0gangcode_gangever both have data; so these three variables can be linked to the correct gang by checking to see which of the two 'code' variables has a non-missing value.
References
- Thornberry, T.P., Lizotte, A.J., Krohn, M.D., Farnworth, M. & Jang, S.J. (1994). Delinquent peers, beliefs, and delinquent behavior: A longitudinal test of interactional theory. Criminology, 32: 47-83.
- Esbensen, F.A. and Huizinga, D. (1993). Gangs, Drugs, and Delinquency in a Survey of Urban Youth. Criminology, 31(4): 565-89.