Consequences of Non-Metropolitan Adolescent Gang Association for Young Adults

Background and Purpose: Studies have consistently shown that gang-involvement is associated with high levels of multiple negative outcomes, such as delinquency and substance use, and that these effects extend into young adulthood.  However, most studies have used dichotomous indicators of gang membership and very few have examined these consequences for non-metropolitan youth.  Research suggests that the consequences of gang membership are similar among non-metropolitan youth and that these effects vary by degree of involvement.  The purpose of the current study is thus to establish the broad consequences of different levels of adolescent gang-involvement for rural and small town young adults.

Methods: Longitudinal cohort data (n=2205) come from respondents from twelve rural and small town control communities (mean population = 13,996) of the Community Youth Development Study, a community-randomized trial assessing the impact of the Communities That Care prevention system on problematic youth outcomes and associated risk and protective factors.  Survey data were collected over eight waves, beginning in 2004, when participants were in fifth grade, through 2012 when they were approximately 19 years old.

Following multiple imputation, a mixture model approach was used to derive classes of adolescent gang-involvement.  Included in the model were five waves (Grades 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12) of two gang measures: a self-nomination item and the number of close friends in a gang.  The resulting classes were then included as predictors in multivariate logistic regression models to compare the different levels of gang association on fifteen outcomes at age 19, while controlling for multiple baseline predictors.  Outcomes include multiple forms of delinquency (violence, drug-selling, etc.) and substance use (alcohol, marijuana, etc.,) as well as receiving government assistance, completing secondary education, teen parenthood, and suicidal ideation.  Analyses were further conducted within gender groups to identify any level differences among outcomes.

Results: Mixture model analyses identified three distinct classes of gang affiliation during adolescence: non-affiliated (71.3%,) gang-associated (21.2%,) and gang members (7.5%.)  Compared to non-affiliated youth, gang members at age 19 were more than twice as likely to engage in most forms of delinquency and substance use and were significantly more likely to receive government assistance, to have not completed secondary education, to be teen parents, and to have suicidal thoughts.  Gang-associated youth had consistently greater odds of most outcomes compared to non-affiliated youth, although the magnitude of these effects was not as strong as those for gang members.  Only slight variation among these outcomes was observed between gender groups.

Conclusions and Implications: Similar to studies with urban samples, gang membership among rural and small town youth is associated with significantly greater odds of multiple problematic outcomes. Youth who are associated with gangs, but unlikely to be members, also had higher odds of these outcomes, further establishing the pervasive social effects of gangs on youth.  The results emphasize that gang membership presents a consistent threat to youth outcomes, regardless of locale, and thus constitutes an important target for service providers and prevention and intervention programs in many non-metropolitan schools and communities.