Predictors of Gang Affiliation Among Adolescents: Implications for Social Work Students

The purpose of this study was to determine what current Master of Social Worker Students in their advanced year know about adolescent gang affiliation, including statistics, predictive factors, and possible interventions. Adolescent gang involvement is a very serious issue that historically has had very problematic effects on society, as well as serious and troublesome effects on the life course of the individual. Despite the knowledge that has been gained in recent years regarding predictive factors of adolescent gang involvement, many intervention programs designed to address this issue are still rarely effective. Despite the fact that there are conflicting findings in the research on adolescent gang affiliation there is also much research that has claimed many similar predictive and preventive factors, such as relationships with family and school. This study will show if current social worker students are aware of the more common factors that lead to adolescent gang affiliation. This will help determine if social work students are just getting a little bit of education on juvenile delinquency and deviance or an abundance of education on the subject matter. The specific population that was surveyed was the Master of Social Work advanced year students at California State University, San Bernardino. Although there were few statistically significant findings in the study, the students for the most part had positive attitudes and perceptions regarding those involved with gang affiliation. The participants for the most part also agreed with factual statements regarding actual predictive factors of gang affiliation. The participants also overwhelmingly all agreed on a more rehabilitative approach when working with youth involved in gang affiliation as opposed to punitive approaches