Dena C. Carson

Consequences of Being Bullied: Results From a Longitudinal Assessment of Bullying Victimization in a Multisite Sample of American Students

Bullying victimization is part of the adolescent experience in most societies, yet little is known about its consequences. In this article we utilize a multisite, longitudinal data set to examine the effects of being bullied. We also explore definitional and measurement issues that confound this line of research. While some researchers have relied on a single/generic item to measure bullying, others have focused on behaviorally specific items. In addition, most prior research on bullying has relied on cross-sectional data, thereby restricting researchers’ ability to examine the consequences of prior victimization. Using three waves of data, we create a typology of victimization (nonvictims, intermittent victims, and repeat victims) that allows us to establish correct temporal ordering to examining the effects of victimization on subsequent attitudes. Importantly, we assess the consequences of bullying victimization using both a single-item indicator and a composite measure consisting of behaviorally specific questions.

General Strain Theory and the Relationship Between Early Victimization and Drug Use

This study uses general strain theory to examine the direct and indirect relationship between early victimization and drug use. Few previous studies measure strain as victimization. Also, past studies tend to combine drug use measures with delinquency measures. This study expands this research by operationalizing strain as early victimization and using measures of both frequency and onset of drug use. National Survey of Adolescents data is used to test the hypotheses. The results show that when youth are victimized they will use drugs more frequently and use drugs at a younger age. These relationships were only partially mediated by social bonds and negative emotions.

Who Are the Gangsters? An Examination of the Age, Race/Ethnicity, Sex, and Immigration Status of Self-Reported Gang Members in a Seven-City Study of American Youth

Fifteen years ago, Esbensen and Winfree published an article in which they challenged the stereotypical image of gang members, specifically with regard to race/ethnicity and sex. In the ensuing years, a number of other publications have reported findings similar to those reported by Esbensen and Winfree, especially with regard to the sex composition of American youth gangs. Studies from Europe have also reported gang member demographic characteristics similar to those reported in the United States. The current article replicates Esbensen and Winfree’s research by examining the sex and racial/ethnic characteristics of self-reported gang members in a seven-city study. In addition, the article explores these characteristics across 5 years of data, examining the extent to which gang member demographics remain constant as youth age. Furthermore, given the attention to immigration, the article also assesses the extent to which gang membership is linked to immigration status. More important, the article also explores the extent to which offending rates vary by these demographic characteristics of the gang and nongang youth.

Short- and Long-Term Outcome Results from a Multisite Evaluation of the G.R.E.A.T. Program

Youth gangs continue to garner substantial attention from the media, public, and academic researchers as result, in large part, of the violence contributed to gang members. Several prevention, intervention, and suppression programs have been introduced to address problems associated with youth games, but today, relatively few have been deemed as promising, let alone as effective.... KEYWORDS: Juvenile justice; Juvenile delinquency Language: en

Putting the “Gang” in “Eurogang”: Characteristics of Delinquent Youth Groups by Different Definitional Approaches

The purpose of this chapter was to explore the validity of different definitional approaches to identify gang members. We applied three definitions (i.e., self-nomination, friends are gang, and the Eurogang definition) to the same diverse sample of American youth. We conclude that the use of any or all of the three definitions reveals a subsample of youth that are behaviorally and attitudinally distinct from non-gang youth. However, we found a lack of definitional convergence. Less than 10% of the sample of gang youth was classified as gang members by all three definitions. The majority of youth were only considered gang members by one definition. Further investigation showed that while different youth were captured by each definition, the attitudes and behaviors of all groups were relatively similar. A series of multivariate logistic regressions showed that the strongest correlates associated with gang membership were common to all three definitions.

Evaluation and Evolution of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program

The Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program is a gang- and delinquency-prevention program delivered by law enforcement officers within a school setting. Originally designed in 1991 by Phoenix-area law enforcement agencies to address local needs, the program quickly spread across the United States. In this article, we describe the evolution of the program and its responsiveness to two independent national evaluations funded by the U.S. National Institute of Justice. The first evaluation revealed little program effect and contributed to a critical review and substantial revision of the G.R.E.A.T. “core” or middle-school curriculum. Preliminary findings from the ongoing second evaluation give an initial indication of the extent to which these changes have resulted in the achievement of G.R.E.A.T. program goals of helping youths to (a) avoid gang membership, violence, and criminal activity; and (b) develop a positive relationship with law enforcement.

Youth Gang Desistance An Examination of the Effect of Different Operational Definitions of Desistance on the Motivations, Methods, and Consequences Associated With Leaving the Gang

Following a noticeable absence, studies of gang desistance have begun to appear in the literature. Spurred by results from panel studies that gang membership is a transitory stage for the majority of gang-involved youth, researchers have begun to examine motivations, methods, and consequences associated with leaving the gang. Relatively absent from these recent publications is attention to the operationalization of gang desistance, an issue of particular importance in survey research. As with concerns about how to define gang membership, it is essential that we explore conceptual and methodological issues associated with defining gang desistance. In this article, we introduce three operationalizations of gang desistance and then examine how the characteristics of “desisters” and the expressed motivations, methods, and consequences for leaving the gang vary across the three different operational definitions.

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Relationship Between School Victimization and Student Mobility

Schools have generally been viewed as “safe havens” from victimization experiences. Yet, there is no question that youth experience a variety of victimization while attending school. The current study expands research on victimization at school by focusing on mobile youth. School mobility is of concern to both educators and practitioners and is associated with a number of harmful as well as beneficial outcomes (e.g., dropout and school failure, deviant behaviors, or increased test scores and grades). This research uses longitudinal data from a sample of approximately 2,000 youth to examine (1) the effect of in-school victimization on school mobility and (2) the consequences of school mobility on subsequent victimization. Findings from multilevel regression and change score analyses indicate that, in middle school, youth who are victimized are more likely to change schools and experience less victimization at the new school.

The Sex Composition of Groups and Youths’ Delinquency: A Comparison of Gang and Nongang Peer Groups

Sex composition of gangs has been shown in prior research to be related to the delinquent involvement of their members, such that the delinquency of girls in sex-balanced gangs is suppressed by boys in those gangs, who seek to maintain their dominant standing by excluding females from the activities that confer status in the gang. Meanwhile, girls in majority-male gangs, because of their small numbers, pose little threat to boys’ status and are, therefore, free to deviate, resulting in delinquency levels that are similar to males in those gangs and greater than those of girls in other gangs. To the extent that gender dynamics of the gang mirror those of larger society, we might expect to see these same patterns replicated in nongang peer groups. It has also been argued, though, that both gender oppression and posturing for status are amplified in the gang setting. Using self-report data from a multisite longitudinal study of 3,820 youths in the USA, this study examines the extent to which youths in gang and nongang peer groups exhibit the same or different patterns of delinquency by group sex composition. Findings from this study contribute to the body of knowledge about what does or does not differentiate youth gangs from other groups.

The mediating effects of delinquent attitudes on race, race heterogeneity, and violent offending

Race is often linked with crime. Research, regardless of method, finds that crime appears to be disproportionately committed by racial and ethnic minorities, especially blacks. And, this disproportionality is greater for violent crimes such as robbery and homicide than it is for non-violent crimes. While some studies identify the importance of neighborhood context, others discuss the importance of a youths peer group in accounting for the relationship between race and violent offending, particularly the racial heterogeneity of the peer group. Drawing on the work of organizational literature as well as the subculture of violence thesis, the current study explores the race-violence relationship by examining three additional mediators: the formation of delinquent attitudes, adherence to a street code, and susceptibility to peer influence. Furthermore, utilizing a sample of white, black, and Hispanic youth, this study examines the extent to which these variables mediate the relationship between racial heterogeneity of the peer group and violent offending.