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Article 1: Understanding the Black Box of Gang Organization: Implications for Involvement in Violent Crime, Drug Sales, and Violent Victimization

Abstract: This article examines the influence of gang organization on several behavioral measures. Using interview data from juvenile detention facilities in three Arizona sites, this article examines the relationship between gang organizational structure and involvement in violent crime, drug sales, victimization, and arrest. The gang literature suggests that gangs are not very well organized. However, the findings from the current research suggest that even low levels of gang organization are important for their influence on behavior. Indeed, even incremental increases in gang organization are related to increased involvement in offending and victimization.
 

Article 2: A Group-Based Modeling Approach to Examining Sociodemographic Variation in the Association Among Risky Sexual Behavior, Drug Use, and Criminal Involvement in a Sample of Newly Arrested Juvenile Offenders

Abstract: This study examined sociodemographic variation in the interrelationships between risky sexual practices, substance use, and arrest history. The sample consisted of 948 newly arrested juvenile offenders processed at a centralized intake facility in 2006. A series of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling techniques were used to (a) determine if risky sexual behavior, marijuana and cocaine use, and arrest history form a unidimensional latent factor; (b) examine the direct effect of age on the latent factor; and (c) compare the factor structure, as well as the effect of age on the latent factor, across four demographic subgroups based on race and gender. Important similarities, as well as differences, in the factor structure across the four groups were found. The results highlight the importance of accounting for sociodemographic factors when examining the association among adolescent problem behaviors.
 

Article 3. Race Differences in Patterns of Risky Behavior and Associated Risk Factors in Adolescence

Abstract: Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this study expands on previous research by (a) examining differences across race in patterns or “subgroups” of adolescents based on nine self-reported behaviors (e.g., delinquency, substance use, and risky sexual practices) and (b) comparing the risk factors (e.g., peer association, parenting, and neighborhood cohesion), both within and across the race-specific subgroups, related to membership into the identified latent classes. The data used in this study include respondents aged 13–17 who participated in Waves 1 and 2 of the Add Health in-home interview. Latent class analysis (LCA) identified key differences in the number and characteristics of the latent classes across the racial subgroups. In addition, both similarities and differences in the risk factors for membership into the latent classes were identified across and within the race-specific subgroups. Implications for understanding risky behavior in adolescence, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.