Gang Membership between Ages 5 and 17 Years in the United States
PURPOSE:
This
study determined the frequency, prevalence, and turnover in gang membership between
ages 5 and 17 years in the United States.
METHODS:
Data were
from the National Longitudinal Survey of
Youth 1997, which is representative of
youth born between 1980 and 1984. Age-specific patterns of gang joining,
participation, and leaving are estimated based on youths (N = 7,335)
self-reported gang membership at the baseline and eight subsequent interviews,
which were combined with population age estimates from the 2010 U.S. Census to
produce national estimates of gang membership. Sampling variance-adjusted
bounds were estimated based on assumptions about missing cases and survey design effects. Demographic and socioeconomic
variables are used to compare differences between gang and nongang youth.
RESULTS:
Youth
gang members were disproportionately male, black, Hispanic, from single-parent
households, and families living below the poverty level. We estimated that
there were 1,059,000 youth gang members in the United States in 2010 (bounds
ranging from 675,000 to 1,535,000). Theprevalence of youth gang membership was 2.0% (1.2%-2.8%),
peaking at age 14 years at 5.0% (3.9%-6.0%). Annually, 401,000
(204,000-639,000) juveniles join gangs and 378,000 (199,000-599,000) exit
gangs, with a turnover rate of 36%.
CONCLUSIONS:
We
discovered that significantly more people are involved with gangs than previous
estimates would suggest. Clinicians and policy makers must recognize that youth
gang members may not conform to popular perceptions of gang demographics. The
patterns of youth gang membership observed in this study support prevention
programs aimed at children before the teen years. This strategy is more likely
to succeed than gang intervention or suppression strategies aimed at teens.
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