Operationalizing Gang Membership: The Impact Measurement on Gender Differences in Gang Self-Identification and Delinquent Involvement

• NCJ Number: 195834
• Journal: Women & Criminal Justice Volume: 13 Issue: 2/3 Dated: 2002 Pages: 79-100
• Author(s): Beth Bjerregaard
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 22 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This research examined the extent to which the operationalization of "gang membership" impacts the prevalence rates of both gang membership and delinquency involvement and whether this varies by gender.

Abstract

Data for this study were derived from Joseph F. Sheley, James D. Wright, and M. Dwayne Smith's study entitled, "Firearms, Violence and Youth in California, Illinois, Louisiana and New Jersey, 1991." The original study examined a sample of 1,663 males and females from 10 inner-city high schools in the four States. The sample fell within four percentage points of the estimated racial and ethnic distributions of the participating schools. A self-administered survey questioned students on their gun ownership, gang membership and gang activities, criminal activities, drug and alcohol usage, and a number of related issues. The sample was almost evenly split between the genders, and it was predominately composed of minorities, with whites accounting for less than 2 percent of the sample. In order to examine the impact of the operationalization of the term "gang membership," three measures were used: an unrestricted measure that relied on the respondent's self-report of gang membership; a restricted measure that asked whether the respondent was a member of an "organized gang;" and a measure that questioned whether the respondent was a member of a gang that had engaged in one of the delinquent acts of car theft, selling drugs, gun thefts, burglary, robbery, gang fights, assaults, or drive-by shootings. An unrestricted definition of "gang membership" compared to more restrictive definitions yielded conflicting findings regarding the impact of gender on gang membership; whereas, the unrestricted measure of gang membership yielded significant gender differences, the more restrictive measure of organized gang membership produced no significant gender difference. The findings suggest the need to further address the issue of operationalization in empirical studies of gang membership, as well as to be sensitive to the potential impact this may have on gender differences reported by researchers. 5 tables, 2 notes, and 60 references