Vulnerability to street gang membership: Implications for practice

Structured interviews with 165 adolescent black males investigated the differences between gang and nongang youth. Bivariate analyses identified 46 variables that distinguished the two groups within five domains of interest-individual, family, peer, school, and neighborhood. Logistic regression analyses reduced the number of significant differences to 14. We suggest several directions for programs to prevent youth from joining street gangs and emphasize the importance of gang prevention or very early intervention.