Female Involvement in the Criminal Justice System and Risk of Violent Victimization: an Examination of Gang Involvement

Abstract

Research on gang membership is widespread and, as a result, findings from such studies have produced a significant amount of information about gangs and gang members. Historically, most of the gang research has focused on male gang members, but during the past couple of decades a considerable emphasis has been placed on understanding female gang members. At the same time, knowledge on female gang members still lags behind that of male gang members. Against that backdrop, the current study sought to add to the existing literature on female gang members by analyzing the association between female gang membership and contact with the criminal justice system, involvement in acts of violent crime and delinquency, and experiences with being victimized. To do so, female respondents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were analyzed. The results of the analyses revealed that 17.2% of females had been part of a gang during their lifetime. Moreover, gang membership was associated with greater involvement in violent crime and delinquency and it was also associated with a greater number of victimization experiences. Gang membership also was associated with an increased risk of being arrested and incarcerated, though these associations were no longer significant after accounting for a number of key control variables.