A Comprehensive Portrait of Service Needs and Programming Options for Gang-Involved Youth: A Review of the Literature to Identify Directions for Research and Practice

Background and Purpose: Prior research has emphasized the risks and consequences of gang involvement for youth, including serious delinquency and violence. Findings from this research have informed gang-specific policies and programs that have focused on youth violence prevention. A less prominent body of research has also highlighted the vulnerability of youth gang populations, focusing on their intensive service needs rather than criminogenic risk. Scholarly and practice efforts continue to emphasize strategies to reduce gang involvement and criminality, rather than improving the overall well-being of this population by addressing broad service needs.

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive portrait of the service needs and program options tailored to gang-involved youth, informed by a focus on the well-being of gang-involved youth rather than delinquency and violence. Study aims include 1) summarizing the multiple, and often intersecting, service needs of gang-involved youth, 2) identifying the policies, programs and services that have been developed for this population to address those needs, and 3) cross-walking the two bodies of literature to identify areas for future research and practice. 

Methods: Using a scoping review methodology (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005; Peters et al., 2015), sources (i.e., articles, book chapters, scientific reports) were obtained using pre-identified search criteria in academic search engines, google scholar and reference lists of key manuscripts. The review included empirical literature published between 1970 and 2017 using U.S. samples of youth aged 10-18 years. This resulted in 120 references, including n = 79 service needs references and n = 41 program references. Information was extracted from the references and input into a database by four members of the research team. The literature was organized and integrated by service domain, and a comprehensive synthesis was conducted in group discussions to determine key areas of service need, available programming options, and research and practice gaps. 

Results: Results suggest gang-involved youth have a diverse array of service needs that go beyond delinquency and violence prevention. Gang-involved youth have significantly higher rates of substance use and abuse, mental health diagnoses and symptomatology, victimization and trauma histories, risky health behaviors, and premature mortality compared to their non-gang peers. Despite the range of service needs for gang-involved youth, policies and programs targeting this population focus heavily on risk factors associated with delinquency and violence. Results highlight clear gaps between service needs and available programming for gang-involved youth, particularly for mental health and risky health behaviors. 

Conclusions and Implications: Cross-walking the service needs and programming literatures highlights directions for research, policy and practice focused on youth well-being. To inform new directions for programming, additional research is needed to clarify 1) how and why service needs differ for gang versus high risk, non-gang youth within similar ecological settings; 2) whether service needs are due to gang membership itself or other factors that co-occur with gang involvement; and 3) whether membership is sought out as an adaptive response for youth whose needs are not being met by other institutions, such as the family, education, community, and social welfare entities.