Gender and Gangs

Abstract

Research and theory about female gang involvement remain scarce. Drawing on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study addresses whether males and females differ in risk factors associated with gang membership (e.g., community characteristics, parent-child relationships, associations with deviant friends). Integrating theory and research from social disorganization, social control, and feminist perspectives on crime/ delinquency, few differences are found between boys and girls in terms of risk factors associated with gang membership and outcomes associated with gang involvement. Instead, the results indicate that parental social control, attachment, and involvement; school safety; peer fighting; age; and race similarly influence boys' and girls' gang involvement.