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The Role of School-Related Bonding Factors and Gender: Correlates of Gang Membership Among Adolescents

In the past several decades both the education and criminology literatures have examined the influence of school factors on the attitudes and behaviors of adolescents. This literature shows that school-related factors, especially those related to social bonding, are relevant to explaining delinquent behavior. This research examines the efficacy of school-related bonding factors in explaining gang membership. In addition, it examines whether these bonding factors differentially explain male and female gang membership. The results show that delinquent involvement is the strongest predictor of gang membership among middle school children. Although several bonding variables are related to gang membership, their influence is very weak. In addition, we do not find support for the hypothesis that these variables differentially explain male and female gang membership. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.