Narrates a young inmate's story of prison life. Describes how he was imprisoned at age 13 and was soon transferred to an adult prison. Discusses feelings of isolation and the brutal life of prisoners. Presents ideas on why youth join gangs and the importance of a warm, family environment. (RJM)

Examined the influence of gang membership on rates of participation in sexual activity, substance use, and violence among African American adolescent girls. Found that gang members had higher participation rates in all three risk behaviors. (JPB)

Reports of increased violence and crime in the schools suggest that an attack on the roots of violence must accompany work to improve discipline and physical security. Suggestions for schools to actively respond to the problem are offered in this digest. Reasons for the increase of violence and for most schools' reluctance to address the problem…

Gang membership and violence are pervasive across the United States. Today children, adolescents and young adults of all social classes and environments are susceptible to gang involvement. Gang members are getting younger and gang leaders are getting older. The composition and structure of the family is examined for the common element between…

To cope with the increasing problem of crime in the schools, principals must be part sociologist, part security technologist, part human relations expert, and part curriculum innovator. (Author/JM)

Examined relative influence of peer and parenting behavior on changes in adolescent gang involvement and gang-related delinquency among ninth-graders. Found that gang involvement decreased over the school year, with average levels of gang delinquency remaining constant. Gang involvement and gang-related delinquency were most strongly predicted by…

Risk-taking behavior includes alcohol and drug use, delinquency, acts of aggression, sexual activity, and so on. Many studies have explored the relationship between adolescents and risk-taking behavior; however, only a few studies have examined this link in adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder…

This publication identifies five levels of gang activity in middle and high schools and presents corresponding strategies for dealing with troublesome situations. The five levels of involvement include: (1) no known gang activity; (2) limited gang activity; (3) emerging gang activity; (4) community in crisis; and (5) gang-controlled community. A…

Youth gangs are not a new phenomena in the United States; however, in the past decade the number of gang members has increased dramatically. Gang prevention-intervention programs are a necessary part of every school's curriculum. Students join gangs for a variety of reasons ranging from boredom to intent on criminal behavior. One characteristic…

The Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program differs from typical efforts to reduce gang involvement in that the G.R.E.A.T. program does not target at-risk youth but rather targets its classroom-based program at all middle school students. The three main objectives of the 9-hour curriculum taught by uniformed officers are to:…

This bibliography is intended to fill the gap of available information on girl-only gangs as a twentieth-century phenomenon of the United States. Although the topic of girl-only gangs has gained national attention and research interest, the paper asserts no girl-only bibliographic tools are available to help locate information on the topic. The…

Reviews the theory of reasoned action to demonstrate how it can be applied to understanding gang violence, and illustrates its potential applicability to a pilot sample of 30 contemporary and 18 earlier gangs living in a large metropolitan community. Results indicate this theory has been helpful in explaining higher levels of violence in…

This book examines the role of female gangs and the part women play in those that are predominantly male and provides an account of how these people came to accept casual killings, fire bombings, and the warfare and violence of the streets. It focuses on female gang members by setting out their stories as biographies and accounts of relationships…

This book describes the experiences of an inexperienced young teacher who, with the support of parents and teenagers in a Los Angeles (California) neighborhood, created a one-room schoolhouse and began to teach 30 gang members, ranging in age from 13 to nearly 20. He had no teaching credentials or college degree and the school had a tiny budget,…

These hearings open with introductory statements detailing the nature of the gang violence problem and legal precedents for federal intervention. Proceedings from the Los Angeles hearings include testimony by a county supervisor, disrict attorneys, a former gang member, the executive director of the Community Youth Gang Services, and the director…