Parenthood as a Turning Point for Gang Members: A Within-Individual Study of Multiple Domains

• In Event: Group Processes and Crime: New Insights on Gangs, Peers and Co-offending

Abstract

Research demonstrates that gang membership is a risk factor for teenage parenthood; at the same time, however, parenthood may serve as a key turning point promoting desistance among gang members. In addressing the empirical validity of this latter point, scholars must account for the fact that “desistance” can emerge across multiple domains, which may or may not operate in consistent ways. Specifically, to fully exit gang life, individuals should no longer self-identify as a gang member (i.e., identity shift), should demonstrate a decline in/ceasing of criminal behavior (i.e., behavioral shift), and should be less reliant on illegal earnings (i.e., an economic shift). Using the NLSY97 panel dataset, this study investigates whether within-individual changes in parental status are related to changes across these three outcomes for both male and female gang members. The results comment both on the process of leaving gang life and the extent to which empirical discrepancies regarding the impact of young parenthood on desistance may be reconciled by considering multiple outcomes.

Authors

• Jean McGloin, University of Maryland

• David Pyrooz, University of Colorado Boulder

• Scott Decker, Arizona State University