Gang Risk Factors among Urban Jamaican Youth: A Qualitative Analysis

Abstract

Jamaican gang scholars attribute youth gang membership primarily to criminogenic conditions of the family and community contexts but sometimes neglect micro-level characteristics. While social factors are salient contributors of youth gang involvement, they do not encapsulate the multiple risk factors and the interactive processes through which an individual decides to join a gang. This study seeks to explore the multidimensional precursors of gang membership. Data were gathered by semi-structured interviews of gang members in areas of West Kingston, Jamaica. The findings reveal that risk factors of gang membership rest on the multidimensionality of neighborhood conditions, broken homes, antisocial peers and negative personality traits. The study contributes to the gang research literature by presenting a cross comparison of gang risk factors found in the US based literature to the urban Jamaican context.