Juvenile delinquency among females is a major societal issue that could potentially lead to violent antisocial behaviors through the access to gangs and other organizations that make these young women feel apart of something bigger than life. A study conducted at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign concluded that adolescent female involvement in gangs is significantly more present in homes where the children were subjected to greater levels of aggressive physical and verbal abuse, delinquency, family gang involvement, and house ejection. Female gang members reported having experienced greater levels of sexual abuse, family divergence, and less parental attention than girls who were recruited but resisted due to a strong support system.
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Hypothesis 1 stated that the girls who were involved in a gang would have higher levels of prior victimization that included abuse, being kicked out, conflict, etc. than the girls who were pressured and the girls who were never initially involved. This suggestion was conducted using a cross-tabs analysis. Building off of Hypothesis 1, Hypothesis 2 indicated that the risk factors of these multiple victimization variables would distinguish the female gang-members from the ones who are not in gangs. It also stated that those involved in gangs are more likely to commit crimes and other forms of delinquency. This theory was tested using a multinomial logistic regression analysis. The results were what were expected with each of the three groups who participated (girls who have no involvement, girls who were pressured but refused, and girls who are involved with gangs) ranking significantly different on each of the variables. Compared to the non-involved girls and the pressured girls, the gang-affiliated group had a higher percentage of girls who ran away from home, …show more content…
The results differentiated the few minor differences and victimization experiences that distinguished the troubled girls who decided to join a gang and the troubled girls who were able to say no and refuse even though they were under a lot of scrutiny at home and in their personal life. Although they presented very similar experiences and victimization incidents, there are a few distinctive risk factors that are unique to the gang involved girls. The gang-involved girls reported having increased levels of family conflict and sexual abuse. They also ran away from home more often, which in itself shows the amount of chaos that took place in these troubled households. For a girl to find no hope at home and feel the need to escape a hellhole shows the amount of victimization she must have endured. Although both groups experienced large amounts of physical and sexual abuse in their past, the gang-involved girls seemed to receive this type of abuse and neglect on a regular basis, forcing them to seek shelter within a gang. Sexual abuse also seemed to be a lot more prevalent than physical abuse among gang-involved girls. Researchers believe that these girls might join gangs to escape the harsh home environment and free themselves from the constant abuse they suffered. The females that reported to have been in a
Hypothesis 1 stated that the girls who were involved in a gang would have higher levels of prior victimization that included abuse, being kicked out, conflict, etc. than the girls who were pressured and the girls who were never initially involved. This suggestion was conducted using a cross-tabs analysis. Building off of Hypothesis 1, Hypothesis 2 indicated that the risk factors of these multiple victimization variables would distinguish the female gang-members from the ones who are not in gangs. It also stated that those involved in gangs are more likely to commit crimes and other forms of delinquency. This theory was tested using a multinomial logistic regression analysis. The results were what were expected with each of the three groups who participated (girls who have no involvement, girls who were pressured but refused, and girls who are involved with gangs) ranking significantly different on each of the variables. Compared to the non-involved girls and the pressured girls, the gang-affiliated group had a higher percentage of girls who ran away from home, …show more content…
The results differentiated the few minor differences and victimization experiences that distinguished the troubled girls who decided to join a gang and the troubled girls who were able to say no and refuse even though they were under a lot of scrutiny at home and in their personal life. Although they presented very similar experiences and victimization incidents, there are a few distinctive risk factors that are unique to the gang involved girls. The gang-involved girls reported having increased levels of family conflict and sexual abuse. They also ran away from home more often, which in itself shows the amount of chaos that took place in these troubled households. For a girl to find no hope at home and feel the need to escape a hellhole shows the amount of victimization she must have endured. Although both groups experienced large amounts of physical and sexual abuse in their past, the gang-involved girls seemed to receive this type of abuse and neglect on a regular basis, forcing them to seek shelter within a gang. Sexual abuse also seemed to be a lot more prevalent than physical abuse among gang-involved girls. Researchers believe that these girls might join gangs to escape the harsh home environment and free themselves from the constant abuse they suffered. The females that reported to have been in a