Predictive Value of Race and Gender on Gang Attitudes Among Young Adults

Moneque Walker-Pickett

doi:10.11648/j.ijecs.20170206.17

Abstract

While much research has been done on gangs in general, little research exists that has examined the predictors of attitudes toward gangs held by young adult women in micropolitan communities. The researchers conducted a predictive correlational research study to determine the significant predictors of attitudes toward gangs held by small-metropolitan community young adults between the ages of eighteen and 25. Through survey sampling, the researchers found that gender was a significant predictor of attitudes toward gangs within this sample population, and race was also a significant predictor of attitudes. Recommendations for gang prevention and reduction measures are suggested along with recommendations for future research examining attitudes toward gangs.

Highlights

Gangs are nothing new in the United States, and have been well researched in urban areas
Utilizing the Attitudes toward Gangs Scale (ATGS), the present study addresses the gap in the existing literature by examining the predictive value of gender in attitude toward gangs in non-metropolitan, or micropolitan, communities in the United States
Attitudes toward gangs held by micropolitan and small metropolitan community adults aged 18-25 years was operationally defined as the attitudes possessed by individuals who live in a micropolitan or small metropolitan community (California locales possessing 2,500 to 99,999 inhabitants) and be aged 18 to 25 years

Summary

Introduction

Gangs are nothing new in the United States, and have been well researched in urban areas. Largely seen as a “city problem,” micropolitan and small metropolitan communities do have gang populations even though many did not view gangs as being a problem in their own communities [21]. Because of these persistent misperceptions, gang problems in micropolitan and small metropolitan communities are not well studied by the current gang research. With current statistics indicating gang activity is increasing at larger rates in smaller cities than larger cities, a focus on research within micropolitan communities is overdue

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