Risk Behaviors: Delinquency, Violence, Substance Use, and Sexual Relations

Abstract

Studies have found that gang membership and affiliation has a “facilitation effect on delinquency—that is, youth’s participation in delinquency increases dramatically when they join gangs, and declines significantly once they leave their gang” (Miller 2001). Women’s involvement in gangs and crime, violence, substance use, and high-risk sexual relations suggest similar trends, but more complex patterns. The difference between male and female gang members is that females commit fewer crimes than their male counterparts, but more than nongang males and females. Moreover, they are involved in less serious or violent crimes than male gang members because they are structurally excluded from male delinquent activities, or possibly decide to exclude themselves. Even though substance use is reportedly higher among girl gang members than girls who are not in gangs, girls in gangs have less of a tendency to use substances than male gang members. Also, there is a wide continuum of drug use among girls associated with gangs, ranging from relatively low use to levels of use that parallel those of men.