Childhood risk factors for adolescent gang membership: Results from the Seattle Social Development Project

Adolescents who join gangs are more frequently involved in serious delinque ncy compared with those who do not, yet few studies have conducted aprospec tive examination of risk factors for gang membership. The present study use s longitudinal data to predict gang membership in adolescence from factors measured in childhood Data were from the Seattle Social Development Project , an ethnically diverse, gender balanced sample (n = 808) followed prospect ively from age 10 to 18. Logistic regression was used to identify risk fact ors at ages 10 through 12 predictive of joining a gang between the ages of 13 and 18. Neighborhood family, school, peer, and individual factors signif icantly predicted joining a gang in adolescence. Youth exposed to multiple factors were much more likely to join a gang. Implications for the developm ent of gang prevention interventions are discussed.