Gang involvement: Social and environmental factors

This study examines some of the individual, social, and environmental factors that differentiate gang-involved youth (both gang members and peripheral youth) and non-gang youth in a British setting. We found that gang-involved youth were more likely than non-gang youth to be older, and individual delinquency and neighborhood gangs predicted gang involvement. Using structural equation modelling we examined the relationships between social/environmental factors and gang involvement. As a result, we found that parental management, deviant peer pressure, and commitment to school had indirect relationships with gang involvement. These findings are discussed as they highlight a need to address the mechanisms in which protective and risk factors function collectively.