NCJ Number
216999
Journal
Journal of Addictive Diseases Volume: 25 Issue: 4 Dated: 2006 Pages: 81-90
Date Published
2006
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined the influences of individual, family, peer, and community factors on the number of drug-use transitions (the number of different drug types, including alcohol, that study participants reported using over their lifetime) experienced by Latino gang members during their drug-using careers.
Abstract
As was found in previous research on Latino gang members, the earlier the age of onset of drug use the greater the number of drug types gang members used over their lifetime. School truancy was also a significant factor in gang members' drug-use transitions. A family's positive attitudes toward deviance and parent-child conflicts were positively linked with the number of drug-type transitions, as was peer drug use. In addition, gang members who perceived higher levels of criminality in their neighborhoods were more likely to have a greater number of drug-type transitions than those gang members who perceived lower levels of crime in their neighborhoods. These findings suggest that intervention programs for Latino gang members should extend beyond addressing individual characteristics to include the attitudes and behaviors of family members and friends, as well as perceptions of the lifestyles of community residents. In this study, four neighborhoods perceived by researchers as having medium to high levels of gang activities and crime were selected for observation; two of these neighborhoods were selected for recruiting gang members into the study group. Seventy-six Dominican and Puerto-Rican gang members agreed to participate in the study during the years 2001-2002. Semistructured interviews elicited gang members' perceptions of attitudes and behaviors in four domains: individual, family, peer, and community, as well as their opinions on how characteristics of these domains influenced their drug-use transitions. 6 tables and 24 references