This study aimed to assess the mental health needs and risk behaviors of adolescents attending an afterschool life-skills skateboarding program, to evaluate the perceived benefits of the program, and to identify potential modifications required to meet the identified needs. Program participants were from three gang- and poverty-affected urban…

The current study explores the major challenges (in the form of risk factors) that may influence unemployed youths' involvement in gang and criminal activity in Lagos, Nigeria. A combination of techniques (e.g., oral, in-depth interviews, and questionnaires) were used for the data collection. The computed outcomes establish some of the major…

Controversies around definitions and perceptions of gangs are heightened by the scarcity of research on crews. In an open-ended interview, 77 Latino 10th graders from a random longitudinal sample provided information about gangs and crews. Although less than 10% reported having been in gangs or crews, 84% reported having personal contact with…

Positive individual and social behaviors were assessed among male gang members and males involved in community-based organizations aimed at promoting positive youth development. Correlations of attribute scores were more often significant for the gang than for the nongang youth. Approximately one-quarter of the gang youth had total positive…

This qualitative research examined risk-taking behavior among Mexican American adolescent girls who are not formal gang members but are associated with male gangs. Findings illustrate how outcomes associated with sexual relations, partying, substance use, and crime vary according to the girl's relationship with the male gang and status within the…

The presence of individual and ecological assets for positive development was assessed through data derived from individual interviews with 45 African American adolescent male members of inner-city Detroit gangs and 50 African American adolescent males living in the same communities but involved in community-based organizations (CBOs) aimed at…

To explore potential bases of positive development among gang youth, attributes of positive individual and social behavior were assessed in individual interviews with 45 African American adolescent male members of inner-city Detroit gangs and 50 African American adolescent males from the same communities but involved in community-based…

Reviewed construct of resilience and adaptation by measuring psychosocial functioning, self-esteem, academic performance, absence or low level of drug use, gang involvement, and delinquent activities among 877 at-risk youths. Found adjustment and low level of antisocial behavior as two latent constructs of resilience and adaptation. (Author/DLH)