Moving Forward on Gang Prevention in Los Angeles, California, 2009-2014 (ICPSR 35506)

Version Date: Jun 16, 2017

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Principal Investigator(s):
Karen Hennigan, Center for Research on Crime, Psychology Dept, University of Southern California

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR35506.v1

Version V1

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Summary

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

Using multiple data time points this study investigated the prospective validity of a secondary gang prevention program called Gang Risk of Entry Factors (GREF) assessment. At Time 1 of the study interview cut-points were established for high and low risk on nine risk factors that were included on the assessment. Those who scored high risk on four or more risk factors were determined eligible for secondary prevention. At time 2 each participate was then classified into one of four levels of gang membership. The goal of this was to investigate how successful the GREF was in identifying the youth (in the absence of a program) who become associated with a street gang in the 12 to 18 months of the study time frame .

Citation

Hennigan, Karen. Moving Forward on Gang Prevention in Los Angeles, California, 2009-2014. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2017-06-16. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR35506.v1

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Funding

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice (2008-IJ-CX-0016)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

None

Restrictions

Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reason for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2011-04 -- 2013-11

Date of Collection

2011-04 -- 2013-03 (Time 1), 2012-07 -- 2013-11 (Time 2)

Data Collection Notes

  1. These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

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Study Purpose

The purpose of the study was to test the prospective validity of the Gang Risk of Entry Factors (GREF) assessment. The study asked 3 primary questions:

  • How successful is the assessment in identifying the youth (in the absence of a program) who become associated with a street gang over a subsequent 12 to 18 months?
  • What percentage of youth identified as high risk for gang-joining actually do join a gang over this time?
  • How many youth identified as low risk join?

Study Design

Youth were referred to the study by school probation officers, approached by research staff at a probation office, or referred by a participating youth. Interviewers described the opportunity to the youth and parents. For those who were interested an appointment was set to meet at their home or other suitable location at a convenient time. Only one youth was eligible to participate within a household. Informed consent was obtained from a parent and the participating youth during the house visit prior to each interview. Youth were interviewed at a private, convenient location in or near their home. Overall, 505 youth were invited to participate in the study and 85% (428) agreed to participate at Time 1. A total of 391 follow-up interviews were completed at Time 2.

Sample

Researchers and probation officers in areas of Los Angeles County that experience high levels of gang crime recruited participates in 3 ways: referred by school probation officers (27%), approached by research staff at a probation office (60%), and referred to the study by a participating youth or his or her parent (13%).

Time Method

Longitudinal

Universe

All youth ages 11 to 16 in areas of Los Angeles County, California experiencing high levels of gang crime in 2011.

Unit(s) of Observation

Individual

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

Variables at time 1 (Data n=428, 424 variables) and time 2 (Data n=391, 452 variables) pertain to nine risk factors associated with joining a street gang. These risk factors included impulsive risk taking, guilt neutralization, antisocial tendencies, negative peer influence, peer delinquency, parental supervision, family gang influence, critical life events, and early delinquent activities. The created variables data set RISK FACTOR DATA WITH GRP IDENTITY data (Data n=428, 55 variables) includes the variables related to the GREF scoring.

Response Rates

A total of 505 youth were invited to participate in the study and 85% (428) agreed to participate at Time 1. A total of 391 follow-up interviews were completed at Time 2 (91% of the Time 1 sample).

Presence of Common Scales

Several Likert type scales were used in this study.

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Original Release Date

2017-06-16

Version History

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:
  • Hennigan, Karen. Moving Forward on Gang Prevention in Los Angeles, California, 2009-2014. ICPSR35506-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2017-06-16. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR35506.v1
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Weight

None

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Notes

  • These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

  • One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.

NACJD logo

This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.