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21 Just. Q. 793 (2004)
Gang Membership and Violent Victimization

handle is hein.journals/jquart21 and id is 803 raw text is: GANG MEMBERSHIP AND VIOLENT VICTIMIZATION* DANA PETERSONS University at Albany TERRANCE J. TAYLOR Georgia State University FINN-AAGE ESBENSEN* University of Missouri - St. Louis Extant gang research supports an enhancement effect of membership on delinquency; that is, while delinquent youths may be attracted to gangs, it is also true that gang membership increases delinquency among youths and that while delinquency levels decrease after gang membership, they do not decrease to nongang levels. In this paper, we build on this research, examining the relationship between youth gang membership and violent victimization in a general sample of adolescents. We find that gang member victimization rates are higher than nongang member rates, not only during membership, but before and after as well. Thus an enhancement model of gang membership appears to best fit both offending and victimization rates. This effect of gang affiliation on victimization goes beyond gang members' involvement in violent offending; violence and gang status equate with cumulative disadvantage in terms of violent victimization. Additionally, contrary to gang youths' perceptions, gangs appear to offer no protective value to gang members; we find no Portions of this research were presented at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the Western Society of Criminology in San Diego, California and the 2003 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in Boston, Massachusetts. This research was supported under award #94-IJ-CX-0058 from the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice. The authors extend their appreciation to Editor Donna Bishop and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. Dana Peterson, an assistant professor in the University at Albany's School of Criminal Justice, studies the etiology of delinquency and youth gang membership, as well as juvenile treatment services and their outcomes, with a focus on exploring whether gender-specific or gender-neutral theories of and responses to delinquency are necessary. - Terrance J. Taylor is an assistant professor at Georgia State University. His primary research interests are in the areas of juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice. - Finn-Aage Esbesen is the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Youth Crime and Violence, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri- St. Louis. He is a past editor of Justice Quarterly. Among his research interests are examination of the causes and consequences of youth violence and evaluation of prevention programs. JUSTICE QUARTERLY, Volume 21 No. 4, December 2004 © 2004 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

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