Changing Course: Preventing Gang Membership, Chapter 6. What Should Be Done in the Family to Prevent Gang Membership? (From Changing Course: Preventing Gang Membership, P 75-88, 2013, Thomas R. Simon, Nancy M. Ritter, and Reshma R. Mahendra, eds. - See NCJ-239234)

• NCJ Number: 243470
• Date Published: 2013
• Length: 15 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Issue Overview; Instructional Material

Annotation

This chapter argues that the most effective programs for preventing youth from joining gangs focus on empowering strong parenting practices and changing family functioning to support positive outcomes.

Abstract

Family-focused strategies prevent gang involvement by targeting important underlying risks for gang membership. For families living in high-risk neighborhoods, programs that assist in building networks of social support and foster family-community ties can provide an additional protective factor to support healthy development and prevent youth involvement in gang violence and other types of violence. Aggressive and antisocial behavior during childhood is a risk factor for more serious crime, violence, and gang involvement later in life; early age of onset is related to the severity of gang involvement. Early-childhood prevention programs, including those that focus on pregnant mothers and families of young children, are currently among the most promising evidence-based prevention approaches. Effective parenting and strong family functioning that include warn affective bonds, close monitoring, and consistent discipline are protective against a variety of antisocial and problem behaviors, including involvement with delinquent peers and subsequent likelihood of gang membership and violence. 35 chapter notes