Youth gang involvement is a serious public health challenge as adolescents involved in gangs are more likely than others to engage in violence and aggression. To better understand gang involvement, we examined the role of protective (empathy and parental support) and risk (peer deviance and lack of safety at school) factors, as well as their interactions, in predicting adolescent gang affiliation. The study involved a sample of 26,232 students (53.4% females; mean age = 14.62, SD = 1.69) participating in the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), a survey investigating a wide range of youth health and risk behaviors administered in all California schools every 2 years. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), findings indicated that high levels of empathy and parental support were associated with a lower likelihood of affiliating with a gang. Associating with deviant peers and perceiving the school as unsafe were positively correlated with gang membership. At the school level, lack of safety and type of school (special education, vocational, or alternative school vs. comprehensive schools) were associated with greater probability of gang membership. Empathy mitigated the association between deviant peers and gang membership. Aggr. Behav. 41:386–397, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oThe current study examined the association between quantity, variety, and configuration of developmental assets with risk behaviors (tobacco and alcohol use) and developing emotional problems (depressive feelings and suicidal thoughts). A sample of 12,040 high school students completed surveys investigating youth health and risk behaviors, and developmental assets. Independent one-step logistic regression analyses showed that adolescents reporting a higher quantity of assets, and possessing them in multiple domains, tended to have a lower likelihood of experiencing behavioral and emotional problems. The negative association between developmental assets and negative outcomes was more consistent when quantity and variety were taken into account simultaneously, thus supporting the configuration protective model. A sufficient amount of strengths, in an adequate number of different domains, seems to provide the strongest protection against negative developmental outcomes. The research and clinical implications of findings are discussed.

a b s t r a c tPrevious research indicates that students who drop out of high school are at risk for a number of negative outcomes. Both ecological and individual risk factors contribute to students' propensity for dropout. This study examined the effectiveness of a targeted dropout prevention program at improving academic achievement and investigated whether improved social support and emotional competencies partially mediated the association between intervention participation and student outcomes. A sample of 110 middle and high school students (55 intervention participants and 55 students in a matched control group) completed surveys investigating their social-emotional assets and schools provided academic data for participants. Structural equation modeling revealed that students who participated in the program had higher academic achievement compared to the control group. Prior levels of academic achievement moderated the effectiveness of the program with students with low initial levels of academic achievement benefiting more. Emotional competencies and social support did not mediate the relation between participation and achievement. The intervention was related to improved academic achievement among participants; however, the means by which it was effective was unclear. Given the evidence that the program was more effective for some students than others, targeting interventions to meet specific needs of students may be advantageous.

Factors characterizing intimate partner violence (IPV) against women vary according to setting and must be understood in localized environments if effective interventions are to be identified. This 2009-2010 exploratory study in Maun, Botswana, used semistructured interviews to elicit information from 469 women about their experiences with IPV. Characteristics found to be important included suicide attempts, childhood exposure to familial violence, access to and control over certain tangible assets, number of children, household location and monthly income, controlling behavior by a partner, and alcohol consumption. Controlling behavior by a partner was the single greatest predictor of physical or psychological IPV.