ERIC Number: EJ921707
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-May
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0011-1287
EISSN: N/A
Reconsidering Hispanic Gang Membership and Acculturation in a Multivariate Context
Miller, Holly Ventura; Barnes, J. C.; Hartley, Richard D.
Crime & Delinquency, v57 n3 p331-355 May 2011
Previous qualitative research has suggested that Hispanic gang membership is linked to the process of acculturation. Specifically, studies have indicated that those who are less assimilated into mainstream American or "Anglo" society are at greater risk for joining gangs. Building on these observations, this study examines the relationship between acculturation and gang membership within a theoretically and empirically informed multivariate framework. Based on a sample of Hispanic adolescents residing in the American Southwest, results largely supported previous qualitative studies that have suggested that a number of factors, including acculturation, are necessary to an understanding of gang membership within this demographic. Findings from logistic regression analyses indicated that respondents' grade in school, neighborhood drug availability, level of ethnic marginalization, and level of acculturation were all significantly associated with self-reported gang membership. Results also suggested that marginalization may partially mediate the effects of acculturation. (Contains 5 notes, 2 tables, and 3 figures.)
Descriptors: Juvenile Gangs, Qualitative Research, Acculturation, Hispanic Americans, At Risk Persons, Correlation, Group Membership, Neighborhoods, Drug Use, Disadvantaged, Instructional Program Divisions, Regression (Statistics)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A