| This paper extends our prior examinations of gang participation among the 7th grade cohort of the Pittsburgh Youth Study (PYS) by adding the PYS I St grade. cohort as well as three additional years of follow-up data for the 7th grade cohort- The combined sample includes 836 boys (351 white and 485 African American) and covers the period from first grade through the early 20s. Theoretically and empirically (using simultaneous hazards models), we distinguish selective mechanisms by which only a subset of boys join gangs from mechanisms by which gangs socialize boys into escalated antisocial activities. Our prior published research suggests that gang entry may be a further developmental step for some boys who are already on a trajectory of worsening antisocial behavior. In unpublished analyses, we have also found that periods of relatively brief association with gangs increase boys' affiliation with delinquent peers and increase their own antisocial behaviors. The extension of these analyses with additional waves of data allows us to: (1) better understand gang entry in earlier (late childhood to early adolescence) versus later (middle to late adolescence) developmental periods, (2) observe more post-gang periods, including those following longer spells of gang participation, and (3) better understand differences by ethnicity. |
Updated 05/20/2006