Trauma and Mental Health of Homeless Gang Members and Gang Affiliates

Background: Homeless youth is a large and growing population with an estimated 1.6 million in America. Additionally, youth gang membership and related negative outcomes continues to be a national problem. These two social issues intersect as many homeless youth identify as being a part of a gang or closely connected to a gang member. Experiences of homelessness and gang membership are both known determinants of increased rates of trauma experiences and poor mental health. Yet, almost no empirical research has examined the intersection between these populations. The purpose of this current study is to determine if gang involvement- either membership or close affiliation- is related to increased risk for trauma and poor mental health outcomes amongst a homeless youth population.

Method: A sample of 505 Los Angeles area drop-in service seeking HY completed a self-administered questionnaire. Youth were asked if they identify as a gang member or if they are gang affiliated (i.e. have a relative, romantic partner or close friend who identified as a gang member). Youth were also asked a series of questions regarding recent mental health and trauma including symptoms of depression, PTSD and suicide attempt, childhood maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse and witnessing family violence) and past year experiences of interpersonal and intimate partner.  Multivariable logistic regressions controlling for age, race, gender, sexual orientation, current living situation and city or origin tested the overall effect of membership or affiliation compared to non-gang involved homeless youth.

Results: Within the sample, 17% identified as a gang member and 46% identified as gang affiliated. Gang members had 6 times greater odds of PTSD symptoms and 2.5 times more likely to have ever attempted suicide compared to non-involved youth. Gang members were 6 times more likely and gang affiliates were twice as likely to report recent involvement in physical violence. Gang membership was related to all surveyed types of childhood trauma. Gang affiliates had twice the odds of reporting experiences of childhood sexual abuse. Gang members were over 3 times more likely to experience intimate partner violence in the previous year.

Discussion: Our analyses reveal that gang involvement amongst homeless youth is prevalent. Rates of membership in this Los Angeles based sample were higher than previous studies and rates of affiliation are notable.  Over half of the sample had ever been gang involved.  This study is unique in that it delineates between members and gang affiliates and compares them to non-involved youth. The results capture the diverse risk profile that is related to gang involvement, particularly in regards to trauma and mental health. Gang members and affiliates experience higher levels of violence and trauma within a population that already experience higher rates than the general youth population. This demonstrates the need for comprehensive interventions to address gang involvement within high-risk and the need to prioritize future research in this field to inform policies and programs that can address the specific needs of this population.