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Title: Gang Membership, Drug Selling, and Violence in Neighborhood Context
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Bellair, Paul E.
McNulty, Thomas L.
Gang Membership, Drug Selling, and Violence in Neighborhood Context
Justice Quarterly 26,4 (December 2009): 644-669.
Also: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07418820802593394
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
Keyword(s): Behavior, Violent; Census of Population; Drug Use; Geocoded Data; Neighborhood Effects

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

A prominent perspective in the gang literature suggests that gang member involvement in drug selling does not necessarily increase violent behavior. In addition it is unclear from previous research whether neighborhood disadvantage strengthens that relationship. We address these issues by testing hypotheses regarding the confluence of neighborhood disadvantage, gang membership, drug selling, and violent behavior. A three-level hierarchical model is estimated from the first five waves of the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, matched with block-group characteristics from the 2000 U.S. Census. Results indicate that (1) gang members who sell drugs are significantly more violent than gang members that don't sell drugs and drug sellers that don't belong to gangs; (2) drug sellers that don't belong to gangs and gang members who don't sell drugs engage in comparable levels of violence; and (3) an increase in neighborhood disadvantaged intensifies the effect of gang membership on violence, especially among gang members that sell drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Bellair, Paul E. and Thomas L. McNulty. "Gang Membership, Drug Selling, and Violence in Neighborhood Context." Justice Quarterly 26,4 (December 2009): 644-669.