Do Neighborhood Conditions Moderate the Effect of School Attachment on the Likelihood of Gang Entry?

• In Event: Explanations and Correlates of the Gang Experience

Abstract

Research has identified a number of risk and protective factors that are associated with gang membership. Some of this research has assessed whether the effects of such factors are moderated by certain demographic characteristics of youths (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender). Surprisingly few studies have empirically addressed the possible moderating influence of neighborhoods even though gang theory underscores the importance of neighborhood context. With a large school-based sample of adolescents, this research examines whether economic conditions in a youth’s neighborhood moderate the effect of school attachment on the likelihood of joining a gang. School dynamics are considered a particularly important risk/protective factor “domain” because such dynamics are generally considered more amenable to change than neighborhood or family dynamics.

Author

• Adam Watkins, Bowling Green State University