Adolescent's views on youth gang involvement in a South African Township

Abstract

Youth gang involvement is a serious public health challenge and there is limited research with adolescents on their understandings of adolescent gang involvement, particularly in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper reports on the key theme of adolescents' experiences of youth gangs which emerged from qualitative research exploring adolescents' experiences of daily life. Six focus groups and 10 individual interviews were conducted with adolescents aged 13–14 years. Four factors were identified as protective against gang involvement; access to resources, school achievement, positive peer influences and supportive adult relationships. These findings illustrate the multiple factors which contribute to youth gang involvement and highlight the need for interventions to take an integrated and uniform approach to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors at the individual, family, school and community level.