NCJ Number
246349
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 18 Issue: 6 Dated: November-December 2013 Pages: 784-791
Date Published
2013
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Thornberry, Krohn, Lizotte, and Chard-Wierschem's 1993 introduced three models to account for why gangs are associated with high levels of delinquency.
Abstract
Thornberry, Krohn, Lizotte, and Chard-Wierschem's 1993 introduced three models to account for why gangs are associated with high levels of delinquency. Existing research using Thornberry et al.'s 1993 models to explain the gang-delinquency association has been inconclusive. This paper seeks to address this gap in research by incorporating Moffitt's 1993 developmental taxonomy of delinquency within Thornberry et al.'s 1993 explanatory models. A few proposals are put forth in this paper: 1. support for Thornberry et al.'s 1993 models depends on developmental stage of the individual, 2. the selection model explains delinquency of life-course-persistent gang members, while social facilitation model explains delinquency of adolescence-limited gang members, and 3. support for the enhancement model is an artifact of assuming a homogenous gang sample.