The Relationship Between Gang Membership and Psychological Risks to Offending Desistance in a Sample of Adolescent and Young Adult Males

A sample of 1047 males who reported either gang membership or co-offending at the baseline interview of the Pathways to Desistance Study was investigated over a four-year period during late adolescence. Direct binary logistic regressions were performed to investigate the impact of social and psychological variables on reported offending desistance. The models contained eight independent variables: Gang membership status, peer delinquent behavior and influence,, resistance to peer influence, temperance, psychosocial maturity, exposure to violence, and substance use. The full models containing all predictors were statistically significant. Peer delinquency, exposure to violence, and substance use predicted desistance irrespective of age; the ability to control aggression and impulsivity was limited to adolescence. Lower peer antisocial behavior was a more consistent predictor for desistance than gang membership status.