Internationalizing the study of gang membership : validation issues from Latin America

Rodriguez, JA; Perez Santiago, N; Birkbeck, CH; Crespo, F; Morillo, S

Abstract

Developing valid measures of gang membership for self-report surveys is a challenging task in comparative cross-national research. In this article we use the Venezuelan case to assess the validity of the Eurogang indicators of gang membership. Based on focus groups with adolescents and the results from two sweeps of the International Self-Report Survey of Juvenile Delinquency we identify problems in the content and construct validities of the Eurogang items. We propose an alternative set of measures for cross-national studies of gang membership, focusing on a group’s reputation for violence (or broader criminal behaviour).

Citation

Rodriguez, J., Perez Santiago, N., Birkbeck, C., Crespo, F., & Morillo, S. (2017). Internationalizing the study of gang membership : validation issues from Latin America. British Journal of Criminology, 57(5), 1165-1184. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azw058

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 6, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jul 21, 2016
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jul 14, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 21, 2018
• Journal: British Journal of Criminology
• Print ISSN: 0007-0955
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-3529
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1165-1184
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azw058
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azw058
• Related Public URLs: http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/
• Additional Information: Funders : Consejo de Desarrollo Científico, Humanístico Tecnológico y Artístico, Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela;Fondo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, Venezuela; Projects : LA ENCUESTA INTERNACIONAL DE AUTO REVELACION SOBRE LA DELINCUENCIA JUVENIL;ENCUESTA INTERNACIONAL DE AUTO REVELACION SOBRE LA DELINCUENCIA JUVENIL; Grant Number: Proyecto D-298-05-09-A; Grant Number: Proyecto C201200930