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Abstract
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This study examined the extent of gang, weapons, and drug-selling activities among representative samples of high-school students in Toronto (Canada) and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania).
The study found that students in both cities reported similar experiences regarding the frequency of weapon involvement and related violence. General similarities were found between the two samples regarding weapon-carrying behavior and experience with weapon-related violence. There were two significant shared predictors of violence: gang fighting and having friends who carry weapons. Similarities in the models for being on the giving or receiving ends of violence indicate some overlap in risk, rather than completely discrete groups of victims and predators. The strength of these two variables as separate contributors also suggests that weapons involvement in peer groups is not necessarily a mark of gang membership, but might be viewed as a unique indicator of propensity for violence. Gang fighting clearly emerged as a potent force for involvement both in victimization and predation with weapons. Although these youth were all enrolled in school, some were apparently involved in serious violence. Being Black in both cities as a marker of youth gang violence and links with other background factors - such as poverty, family instability, and poor school performance - warrants further examination. Drug selling did not emerge as a significant predictor of violence in either city, having only a minor role for explaining victimization in Toronto. Founding teams at the University of Delaware and the University of Toronto developed the common questionnaire and used consistent methods in surveying high school students. The student samples consisted of 9th to 12th graders in eight (Toronto) and seven (Philadelphia) schools. At the school level, 1 class was selected from each grade resulting in 4 representative classes per school (967 students in Toronto and 712 in Philadelphia). [NCJRS Abstract] |