The literature on risk factors for joining street gangs has relied mainly on surveys of US youth. This article addresses the consistency of correlates of street gang involvement in several European countries. We utilize self-report surveys of middle school students in 19 European countries. We employ the Eurogang definition of gang membership and address the degree to which risk indicators from multiple ecological domains surface with some regularity across these different country contexts. Delinquent offending and negative peer behaviours emerge as the most influential and consistent correlates of gang involvement. We consider the implications of our findings for revealing a generalizable pattern of gang participation among European youth as well as the theoretical implications of the significant gang correlates.
AgnewR (2001) Building on a foundation of general strain theory: Specifying the types of strain most likely to lead to crime and delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency38: 319–361.
2.
AkersRL (1998) Social Learning and Social Structure: A General Theory of Crime and Deviance. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
3.
AldridgeJMedina-ArizJRalphsR (2012) Counting gangs: Conceptual and validity problems with the Eurogang definition. In: EsbensenF-AMaxsonCL (eds) Youth Gangs in International Perspective: Results from the Eurogang Program of Research. New York: Springer, 35–52.
4.
AlleyneEWoodJL (2012) Gang membership: The psychological evidence. In: EsbensenF-AMaxsonCL (eds) Youth Gangs in International Perspective: Results from the Eurogang Program of Research. New York: Springer, 151–168.
5.
BendixenMEndresenIMOlweusD (2006) Joining and leaving gangs: Selection and facilitation effects on self-reported antisocial behaviour in early adolescence. European Journal of Criminology3: 85–114.
6.
BennettTHollowayK (2004) Gang membership, drugs and crime in the UK. British Journal of Criminology44: 305–323.
7.
BlayaC (2010) France. In: Junger-TasJMarshallIHEnzmannDKilliasMSteketeeMGruszczynskaB (eds) Juvenile Delinquency in Europe and Beyond: Results of the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study. London: Springer, 65–77.
8.
BradshawP (2005) Terrors and youth teams: Youth gangs and delinquency in Edinburgh. In: DeckerSHWeermanFM (eds) European Street Gangs and Troublesome Youth Groups. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 193–218.
9.
BreenJManningUO’DonnellIO’MahonyDSeymourM (2010) Ireland. In: Junger-TasJMarshallIHEnzmannDKilliasMSteketeeMGruszczynskaB (eds) Juvenile Delinquency in Europe and Beyond: Results of the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study. London: Springer, 113–123.
10.
BursikRJJr (2002) A systemic model of gang behavior: A reconsideration. In: HuffCR (ed.) Gangs in America, 3rd edn.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 71–82.
11.
CohenLEFelsonM (1979) Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activities approach. American Sociological Review44: 588–608.
12.
CraigWMVitaroFGagnonCTremblayRE (2002) The road to gang membership: Characteristics of male gang and nongang members from ages 10 to 14. Social Development11(1): 53–68.
13.
EsbensenF-AWeermanF (2005) Youth gangs and troublesome youth groups in the United States and the Netherlands: A cross-national comparison. European Journal of Criminology2(1): 1477–3708.
14.
EsbensenF-APetersonDTaylorTJFrengA (2009) Similarities and differences in risk factors for violent offending and gang membership. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology42(2): 310–335.
15.
EsbensenF-AWinfreeLTJrHeNTaylorTJ (2001) Youth gangs and definitional issues: When is a gang a gang, and why does it matter?Crime and Delinquency47: 105–130.
16.
FarringtonDPLoeberR (2000) Some benefits of dichotomization in psychiatric and criminological research. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health10: 100–122.
17.
GattiUHaymozSSchadeeH (2011) Deviant youth groups in 30 countries: Results from the second international self-report delinquency study. International Criminal Justice Review21(3): 208–224.
18.
GottfredsonMRHirschiT (1990) A General Theory of Crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
19.
GrasmickHGTittleCRBursikRJArneklevBJ (1993) Testing the core empirical implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency30(1): 5–29.
20.
HaymozSGattiU (2010) Girl members of deviant youth groups, offending behaviour and victimization: Results from ISRD-2 in Italy and Switzerland. European Journal of Criminal Policy Research16: 167–182.
21.
HenniganKMMaxsonCLSloaneDCKolnickKAVindelF (2013) Identifying high-risk youth for secondary gang prevention. Journal of Crime and Justice37(1): 104–128.
22.
HillKGLuiChHawkinsJD (2001) Early Precursors of Gang Membership: A Study of Seattle Youth. OJJDP Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
23.
HirschiT (1969) Causes of Delinquency. Berkeley CA: University of California Press.
24.
HoughMMaffaeS (2013) Thinking about legitimacy. Criminology in Europe:Newsletter of the European Society of Criminology12(2): 4–10.
25.
HowellJCEgleyAJr (2005) Moving risk factors into developmental theories of gang membership. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice3(4): 334–354.
26.
ISRD2 Working Group (ed.) (2005) Questionnaire ISRD2: Standard Student Questionnaire. Boston, Hamburg, Utrecht, Warsaw and Zurich: European Society of Criminology.
27.
Junger-TasJMarshallIHRibeaudD (2003) Delinquency in an International Perspective: The International Self-Reported Delinquency Study (ISRD). The Hague: Kugler.
28.
Junger-TasJMarshallIHEnzmannDKilliasMSteketeeMGruszczynskaB (2010) Juvenile Delinquency in Europe and Beyond: Results of the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study. London: Springer.
29.
Junger-TasJMarshallIHEnzmannDKilliasMSteketeeMGruszczynskaB (2012) The Many Faces of Youth Crime: Contrasting Theoretical Perspectives on Juvenile Delinquency across Countries and Cultures. London: Springer.
30.
KatzCMFoxAM (2010) Risk and protective factors associated with gang-involved youth in Trinidad and Tobago. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública27(3): 187–202.
31.
KleinMW (2001) Resolving the Eurogang paradox. In: KleinMKernerH-JMaxsonCLWeitekampEGM (eds) The Eurogang Paradox: Street Gangs and Youth Groups in the US and Europe. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer, 7–20.
32.
KleinMW (2002) Street gangs: A cross-national comparison. In: HuffCR (ed.) Gangs in America, 3rd edn.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 237–254.
33.
KleinMWMaxsonCL (2006) Street Gang Patterns and Policies. New York: Oxford University Press.
34.
KrohnMDThornberryTP (2008) Longitudinal perspectives on adolescent street gangs. In: LibermanAM (ed.) The Long View of Crime: A Synthesis of Longitudinal Research. New York: Springer, 128–160.
35.
LuciaSHerrmannLKilliasM (2007) How important are interview methods and questionnaire designs in research on self-reported juvenile delinquency? An experimental comparison of Internet vs. paper-and-pencil questionnaires and different definitions of the reference period. Journal of Experimental Criminology3(1): 39–64.
36.
McVieS (2010) Gang Membership and Knife Carrying: Findings from the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime. Edinburgh: Scottish Government Social Research.
37.
MarkinaASaarJ (2010) Estonia. In: Junger-TasJMarshallIHEnzmannDKilliasMSteketeeMGruszczynskaB (eds) Juvenile Delinquency in Europe and Beyond: Results of the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study. London: Springer, 255–265.
38.
MarshallIHEnzmannD (2012) Methodology and design of the ISRD-2 study. In: Junger-TasJMarshallIHEnzmannDKilliasMSteketeeMGruszczynskaB (eds) The Many Faces of Youth Crime: Contrasting Theoretical Perspectives on Juvenile Delinquency across Countries and Cultures. London: Springer, 1–46.
39.
MatsudaKNEsbensenF-ACarsonDC (2012) Putting the ‘gang’ in ‘Eurogang’: Characteristics of delinquent groups by different definitional approaches. In: EsbensenF-AMaxsonCL (eds) Youth Gangs in International Perspective: Results from the Eurogang Program of Research. New York: Springer, 17–34.
40.
MaxsonCLEsbensenF-A (2012) The intersection of gang definition and group process. In: EsbensenF-AMaxsonCL (eds) Youth Gangs in International Perspective: Results from the Eurogang Program of Research. New York: Springer, 303–316.
41.
MaxsonCLHaymozS (2013) Does the G-word matter in identifying European gang members?Presentation to the Eurogang XIII workshop, Canterbury, UK.
42.
MedinaJAldridgeJShuteJRossA (2013) Measuring gang membership in England and Wales: A latent class analysis with Eurogang survey questions. European Journal of Criminology10(5): 591–605
43.
MeldeCEsbensenF-A (2011) Gang membership as a turning point in the life course. Criminology49(2): 513–552.
44.
MeldeCEsbensenF-A (2012) The onset of (Euro)gang membership as a turning point in the life course. In: EsbensenF-AMaxsonCL (eds) Youth Gangs in International Perspective: Results from the Eurogang Program of Research. New York: Springer, 169–188.
45.
MeldeCGavazziSMcGarrellEBynumT (2011) On the efficacy of targeted gang interventions: Can we identify those most at risk?Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice9(4): 279–294.
46.
OsgoodDWWilsonJKO’MalleyPMBachmanJG (1996) Routine activities and individual deviant behavior. American Sociological Review61: 635–655.
47.
PauwelsLJRSvenssonR (2013) Violent youth group involvement, self-reported offending and victimisation: An empirical assessment of an integrated informal control/lifestyle model. European Journal of Crime Policy Research19: 369–386.
48.
PauwelsLJRVettenburgNGavrayCBrondeelR (2011) Societal vulnerability and troublesome youth group involvement: The mediating role of violent values and low self control. International Criminal Justice Review21(3): 283–296.
49.
PedersenMLLindstadJM (2012) The Danish gang-joining project: Methodological issues and preliminary results. In: EsbensenF-AMaxsonCL (eds) Youth Gangs in International Perspective: Results from the Eurogang Program of Research. New York: Springer, 239–250.
50.
PetersonDCarsonDC (2012) The sex composition of groups and youths’ delinquency: A comparison of gang and nongang peer groups. In: EsbensenF-AMaxsonCL (eds) Youth Gangs in International Perspective: Results from the Eurogang Program of Research. New York: Springer, 189–210.
51.
PyroozDCDeckerSH (2012) Delinquent behavior, violence, and gang involvement in China. Journal of Quantitative Criminology29: 251–272.
52.
SharpCAldridgeJMedinaJ (2006) Delinquent Youth Groups and Offending Behaviour: Findings from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey. London: Home Office.
53.
SteketeeM (2012) The lifestyles of youth and their peers. In: Junger-TasJMarshallIHEnzmannDKilliasMSteketeeMGruszczynskaB (eds) The Many Faces of Youth Crime: Contrasting Theoretical Perspectives on Juvenile Delinquency across Countries and Cultures. London: Springer, 237–255.
54.
ThornberryTPKrohnMDLizotteAJSmithCATobinK (2003) Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
55.
ThrasherF (1927) The Gang: A Study of 1,313 Gangs in Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
56.
VettenburgNBrondeelRGavrayCPauwelsLJR (2013) Societal vulnerability and adolescent offending: The role of violent values, self-control and troublesome youth group involvement. European Journal of Criminology10(4): 444–461.
57.
WeermanFM (2012) Are the correlates and effects of gang membership sex-specific? Troublesome youth groups and delinquency among Dutch girls. In: EsbensenF-AMaxsonCL (eds) Youth Gangs in International Perspective: Results from the Eurogang Program of Research. New York: Springer, 271–290.
