THE CONTRIBUTION OF GANG MEMBERSHIP TO DELINQUENCY BEYOND DELINQUENT FRIENDS

Both being involved in a gang and having friends who are delinquent ha ve been shown to contribute to an individual's own delinquency. Howeve r, the unique contribution of gang membership to delinquency, above an d beyond having delinquent peers, has not been well studied. Increased delinquency among gang members may not be due to gang membership per se, but to the members' association with delinquent peers. Using data from the Seattle Social Development Project, this research compared in volvement in delinquency for gang members, nongang youths with delinqu ent friends, and nongang youths who did not have delinquent friends. M ANOVA and follow-up ANOVA were conducted to determine differences on m easures of delinquency among the three groups at ages 14 and 15. Gang members were found to have a higher rate of offending in the past year when compared with the other groups. The contribution of gang members hip to delinquency above and beyond having delinquent friends was also examined using structural equation modeling. Gang membership was foun d to independently predict both self-reported and officially recorded delinquency beyond the effects of having delinquent friends and prior delinquency. Implications of the results for delinquency prevention an d intervention efforts are discussed.