Table 1: Risk Factors for Youth Gang Membership

Domain	Risk Factors	Sources
Community	Social disorganization, including poverty and residential mobility	Curry and Spergel, 1988
	Organized lowerclass communities	Miller, 1958; Moore, 1991
	Underclass communities	Bursik and Grasmick, 1993; Hagedorn, 1988; Moore, 1978, 1985, 1988, 1991; Moore, Vigil, and Garcia, 1983; Sullivan, 1989
	Presence of gangs in the neighborhood	Curry and Spergel, 1992
	Availability of drugs in the neighborhood	Curry and Spergel, 1992; Hagedorn, 1988, 1994a, 1994b; Hill et al., in press; Kosterman et al., 1996; Moore, 1978, 1991; Sanchez-Jankowski, 1991; Taylor, 1989
	Availability of firearms	Lizotte et al., 1994; Miller, 1992; Newton and Zimring, 1969
	Barriers to and lack of social and economic opportunities	Cloward and Ohlin, 1960; Cohen, 1960; Fagan, 1990; Hagedorn, 1988, 1994b; Klein, 1995; Moore, 1990; Short and Strodtbeck, 1965; Vigil, 1988
	Lack of social capital	Short, 1996; Sullivan, 1989; Vigil, 1988
	Cultural norms supporting gang behavior	Miller, 1958; Short and Strodtbeck, 1965
	Feeling unsafe in neighborhood; high crime	Kosterman et al., 1996; Vigil, 1988
	Conflict with social control institutions	Vigil, 1988
Family	Family disorganization, including broken homes and parental drug/alcohol abuse	Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993; Hill et al., in press; Vigil, 1988
	Troubled families, including incest, family violence, and drug addiction	Moore, 1978, 1991; Vigil, 1988
	Family members in a gang	Curry and Spergel, 1992; Moore, 1991; Moore, Vigil, and Garcia, 1983
	Lack of adult male role models	Miller, 1958; Vigil, 1988
	Lack of parental role models	Wang, 1995
	Low socioeconomic status	Almost all studies
	Extreme economic deprivation, family management problems, parents with violent attitudes, sibling antisocial behavior	Hill et al., in press; Kosterman et al., 1996
School	Academic failure	Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Curry and Spergel, 1992; Kosterman et al., 1996
	Low educational aspirations, especially among females	Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Hill et al., in press; Kosterman et al., 1996
	Negative labeling by teachers	Esbensen and Huizinga, 1993; Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993
	Trouble at school	Kosterman et al., 1996
	Few teacher role models	Wang, 1995
	Educational frustration	Curry and Spergel, 1992
	Low commitment to school, low school attachment, high levels of antisocial behavior in school, low achievement test scores, and identification as being learning disabled	Hill et al., in press
Peer Group	High commitment to delinquent peers	Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Esbensen and Huizinga, 1993; Vigil and Yun, 1990
	Low commitment to positive peers	Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993
	Street socialization	Vigil, 1988
	Gang members in class	Curry and Spergel, 1992
	Friends who use drugs or who are gang members	Curry and Spergel, 1992
	Friends who are drug distributors	Curry and Spergel, 1992
	Interaction with delinquent peers	Hill et al., in press; Kosterman et al., 1996
Individual	Prior delinquency	Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Curry and Spergel, 1992; Esbensen and Huizinga, 1993; Kosterman et al., 1996
	Deviant attitudes	Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993; Fagan, 1990; Hill et al., in press; Kosterman et al., 1996
	Street smartness; toughness	Miller, 1958
	Defiant and individualistic character	Miller, 1958; Sanchez-Jankowski, 1991
	Fatalistic view of the world	Miller, 1958
	Aggression	Campbell, 1984a, 1984b; Cohen, 1960; Horowitz, 1983; Miller, Geertz, and Cutter, 1962; Sanchez-Jankowski, 1991
	Proclivity for excitement and trouble	Miller, 1958; Pennell et al., 1994
	Locura (acting in a daring, courageous, and especially crazy fashion in the face of adversity)	Moore, 1991; Vigil, 1988
	Higher levels of normlessness in the context of family, peer group, and school	Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993
	Social disabilities	Short and Strodtbeck, 1965; Vigil, 1988
	Illegal gun ownership	Bjerregaard and Lizotte, 1995; Lizotte et al., 1994; Vigil and Long, 1990
	Early or precocious sexual activity, especially among females	Kosterman et al., 1996; Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993
	Alcohol and drug use	Bjerregaard and Smith, 1993; Curry and Spergel, 1992; Esbensen, Huizinga, and Weiher, 1993; Hill et al., in press; Thornberry et al., 1993; Vigil and Long, 1990
	Drug trafficking	Fagan, 1990; Thornberry et al., 1993
	Desire for group rewards such as status, identity, self-esteem, companionship, and protection	Curry and Spergel, 1992; Fagan, 1990; Horowitz, 1983; Horowitz and Schwartz, 1974; Moore, 1978, 1991; Short and Strodtbeck, 1965
	Problem behaviors, hyperactivity, externalizing behaviors, drinking, lack of refusal skills, and early sexual activity	Hill et al., in press; Kosterman et al., 1996
	Victimization	Fagan, 1990

Youth Gangs: An Overview	Juvenile Justice Bulletin   ·  August 1998