Recent studies have shown that the influence of gang membership is a more detrimental predictor of delinquency than the association with delinquent peers alone. A recent survey reported the existence of at least 1,500 gangs and over 65,000 gang members in Florida. Furthermore, statistics also reveal that Florida currently has the most rapidly growing gang population in comparison to all other states. This study examines and compares the predictors of gang membership in three South Florida counties with the highest gang membership rates, Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, by evaluating risk factors at the community, family, school, peer and individual level. Using the Florida Substance Abuse Survey Data, the study seeks to examine the risk factors predictive of gang memberships that are present in the three counties, how the exposures to multiple risk factors increase the odds of gang memberships and how they compare in exposure to risk factors. Logistic regressions are employed to identify significant predictors of gang membership net of the effects of race and gender. Implications for policy and gang intervention programs are discussed. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2009. / Date of Defense: April 24, 2009. / Gangs, Risk Factors, Florida Gangs, Life Course Perspective / Includes bibliographical references. / Sarah Bacon, Professor Directing Thesis; William Bales, Committee Member; Brian Stults, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_168917 |
| Contributors | Dhungana, Karla Johanna (authoraut), Bacon, Sarah (professor directing thesis), Bales, William (committee member), Stults, Brian (committee member), College of Criminology and Criminal Justice (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
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