Parenthood as a Turning Point in the Life Course for Male and Female Gang Members: A Study of Within‐individual Changes in Gang Membership and Criminal Behavior

Abstract

The impact of parenthood on leaving a street gang is not well understood. This is likely because researchers in prior studies have not accounted for multiple dimensions of gang exit, possible gender differences, and potential selection bias. In this study, we use a sample of 466 male and 163 female gang members from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997 to consider the within‐individual relationship between changes in parenthood and changes in claiming gang membership and offending. These data offer the opportunity to consider gender differences and birth parity (i.e., first or second child). The results from a series of fixed‐effects models reveal that motherhood is associated with enduring reductions in both the odds of claiming gang membership and the rate of offending, whereas fatherhood has a temporary beneficial impact on gang membership and offending only for those fathers who reside with their children. In most cases, the beneficial effect of having a child rests in becoming a parent for the first time. On the whole, our study findings demonstrate that parenthood serves as a turning point for a particular group of noteworthy offenders—gang members.

Examining Racial and Ethnic Variations in Reasons for Leaving a Youth Gang

“…By understanding racial and ethnic variations in how youth discuss their motivations for leaving the gang, this work will help to build the body of research on racial and ethnic variations in criminal careers over the life course. Additionally, this manuscript will complement recent work that explores factors that facilitate or hinder the gang desistance process such as school transitions and parenthood (Carson et al 2017;Pyrooz et al 2017). Previous research examining trajectories of gang membership has found that minority gang youth tend to stay in a gang for longer periods of time than their white counterparts (Pyrooz 2014;Pyrooz et al 2013), but little is known about why belonging to a racial/ethnic minority group may slow the gang desistance process.…”

Deviant Group Membership – Joining, Leaving, and Behavior in Criminal Groups

“…Among some of the top reasons that people decided to leave their groups was because of legal problems, being injured, and being burned out with the lifestyle. Bullard & Reid (2019) and Pyrooz et al (2017) found in their work that one of the best times to pull gang members out of their groups was during critical moments (e.g., during emergency services) when they have been seriously injured or have faced some major negative life consequence in some way (e.g., being stabbed, jumped). The decision to leave the group often results from a combination of pushes and pulls (Berger et al, 2017).…”

“…Macfarlane (2018) pointed out that social factors play a major role in placing people at-risk of joining deviant groups, such as negative peer relations and coming from a dysfunctional family environment. In relation to this, Pyrooz, McGloin, & Decker (2017) found in their research that poor parenting and the intergenerational transmission of gang identity often plays a major role when it comes to a young person becoming involved with a gang.…”

“…Most members of deviant groups will eventually leave the group. According to Pyrooz et al (2017), gang membership tends to be temporary and most will leave at some point during their early adult years. Research shows that most members only stay active for around 1 to 2 years (Densley, 2019;Weerman et al, 2014), although some members are active for much longer (Berger, Abu-Raiya, Heineberg, & Zimbardo, 2017).…”

“…One of the most common ways that researchers make sense of why deviant group members leave their respective groups is through the lens of "pushes" and "pulls." Pushes tend to refer to the forces that motivate one to disengage from the group because of things such as disillusionment with lifestyle, burnout, and victimization, whereas pulls refer more to exiting forces associated with being seriously injured (e.g., being stabbed or shot), family responsibilities, religious awakenings, and parenting (Berger et al, 2017;Bullard & Reid, 2019;Carson & Esbensen, 2017;Pyrooz et al, 2017). Research by Pyrooz et al (2017) found that becoming a parent has a profound effect on female gang members and it often serves as the catalyst for exiting the gang lifestyle.…”