NCJ Number
228995
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 26 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2009 Pages: 625-643
Date Published
December 2009
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the nature of the gang-violent victimization relationship using Propensity Score Matching on data from the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) longitudinal study.
Abstract
Three findings that emerged from the study included: 1) before matching was performed, gang joiners were more likely to become violently victimized than those who did not join; 2) several differences between gang and non-gang members were detected before gang members joined a gang; and 3) after successfully matching non-gang joiners with gang joiners the effect of joining a gang on subsequent violent victimization became statistically non-significant and substantively very small. The overall results showed support for the selection perspective because the relationship between joining a gang and becoming violently victimized was explained by preexisting differences that perhaps led gang members to join a gang in the first place. Despite the apparent relationship between gang membership and offending, little attention has been given to the nature of the association between gang membership and violent victimization. Using the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) longitudinal data, a Propensity Score Matching (PSM) model was estimated to determine if selection processes into gangs precluded observation of a casual link between joining a gang and future violent victimization. Tables, figure, and references