Familial Transmission of Gang Involvement

• In Event: Methodological Advancements to Studying Crime and Development

Abstract

The role of delinquent peer friendship networks in contouring gang membership has driven much of contemporary criminological research. Yet, during adolescence, siblings are also salient influences on one another, acting as potential social partners, mentors, and/or “gatekeepers” to delinquent networks. The current study uses nine waves of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) to examine the diffusion of gang membership among similar-aged siblings. We exploit the household-based nature of the survey, whereby all eligible household members sharing a primary residence completed a questionnaire. The study utilizes siblings’ self-report gang involvement as a determinant of focal youths’ self-report gang involvement. The analysis conceives of the family as a social network, and explores the way that household structure and respondent characteristics impact the process of gang diffusion.

Authors

• Sadaf Hashimi, Rutgers University, Newark

• Robert Apel, Rutgers University, Newark

• Sara Wakefield, Rutgers University