Youth gangs, drug use, and delinquency

This study addressed the relationship among youth gangs, drug use, and deli nquency by focusing on: (I) the effects of prior drug use and delinquency o n gang membership; (2) the effect of gang membership on drug use and delinq uency; and (3) the interaction effects of prior drug use and delinquency wi th gang membership on drug use and delinquency. Using data from the first t wo waves of the Buffalo Longitudinal Survey of Young Men, the present study assessed these three models. The data indicate that prior delinquency sign ificantly affects gang membership, while prior drug use has no effect on ga ng membership. Gang membership has an effect on subsequent delinquency and drug use, although its effect on subsequent delinquency is fairly modest. F inally, there are interaction effects between gang membership and prior del inquency/drug use on subsequent delinquency/drug use. The nature of these i nteraction effects indicate that gang membership has a stronger effect on y ouths who have not committed delinquency and facilitates drug use only for those who have not used. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .