Delinquent gangs and adolescent victimization revisited: A propensity score matching approach

Abstract

Adolescents in delinquent gangs are at risk for multiple forms of antisocial behavior and related negative outcomes, including victimization. Theoretical attempts to explain the delinquency-gang nexus include selection, facilitation, and enhancement models, but each has limitations in terms of selection biases. To redress this, the current study used propensity score matching (PSM) to evaluate the effects of gang membership on victimization at two time points using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The most antisocial youths and those with more delinquency victimization were more likely to join gangs, which supports the selection model. In support of the enhancement model, the authors found that after controlling for selection effects using PSM, gang membership maintained a significant predictive relationship with victimization measured contemporaneously and longitudinally. Membership in a gang increases youths' chances of being victimized above and beyond personal characteristics, and the deleterious gang effect does not weaken over time. © 2009 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology.