NCJ Number
251841
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 47 Dated: December 2016 Pages: 41-50
Date Published
December 2016
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether perceived social support during emerging adulthood moderates the relationship between adolescent gang affiliation trajectories and violence in adulthood.
Abstract
Adolescent gang affiliation has long-term, cascading effects across the life course, ruining life chances in multiple domains and leading to sustained involvement in crime and violence. Yet, limited empirical attention has been devoted to exploring what factors may buffer the risk of adolescent gang affiliation on violent behavior in adulthood. The current study used data from the Rochester Youth Development Study to estimate development trajectories of adolescent gang affiliation. These trajectory groups were then linked to later violence through Poisson regression models, establishing the relationship between adolescent gang affiliation, protective factors during emerging adulthood, and violence in established adulthood. The study found that having a committed partner relatively early in life protected individuals in the early-adolescence gang affiliation trajectory from sustained violence, and perception of consistent support from a parent figure protected individuals in the late-adolescence gang affiliation trajectory from violence in adulthood. The study concludes that perception of social support from a partner or parent figure can be critical in reducing the enduring consequences of gang affiliation. It is also important to recognize developmental heterogeneity among gang youths when intervening and providing support. (Publisher abstract modified)