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

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rodríguez, Juan A. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2017
In: The British journal of criminology
Year: 2017, Volume: 57, Issue: 5, Pages: 1165-1184
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Keywords:
Gang membership
Self-report study
Validity
Latin America
Gangmitgliedschaft
Latein Amerika
Description
Summary: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).
ISSN:1464-3529
DOI:10.1093/bjc/azw058