Revisiting the Use of Propensity Score Matching to Understand the Relationship between Gang Membership and Violent Victimization: A Cautionary Note

• NCJ Number: 239105
• Journal: Justice Quarterly Volume: 29 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2012 Pages: 105-124
• Author(s): M. Murat Ozer; Robin S. Engel
• Date Published: February 2012
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the theory that gang members are more likely to experience victimization compared to non-gang members.

Abstract

Previous research has consistently reported that gang members are more likely to experience violent victimization compared to non-gang members. Recently, however, a study challenged this conventional wisdom using the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) data. Employing propensity score matching (PSM), this study reported no significant differences in violent victimization between gang and non-gang members. Upon closer examination of the GREAT data and the PSM process used in this study, we note several theoretical, methodological, and statistical concerns. The authors reanalyzed the GREAT data using both negative binomial regression and PSM. The authors found that self-reported gang members were significantly more likely to report subsequent violent victimization compared to non-gang members. Although contrary to this previous study, the findings are consistent with the bulk of previous empirical research and widely held beliefs about the relationship between gang membership and violent victimization. (Published Abstract)