The relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and gang-involved delinquent behavior in adolescent boys

Gang involvement and delinquent behavior among adolescent males presents a serious and growing problem in United States schools and communities. Among youth that participate in gang-involved delinquent behavior, trauma in the form of abuse, neglect, maltreatment, and exposure to violence seems to be a common theme (Maldonado-Dura'n & Millhuff, 2002). Research suggests traumatic life experiences can initiate poor life choices which can result in gang-involved delinquent behavior (Crimmins et al., 2000; Howell, 2000; Smith & Thornberry, 1995).; Alternatively, there are also researchers that support the ability for a child to experience a traumatic event but not become involved in delinquent behavior or gangs. This is attributed to resiliency (Garbarino et al., 1992).; The objective of the present study was to evaluate the extent to which both traumatic life experiences and resiliency factors contribute to gang-involved delinquent behavior in adolescent males. The participants included 67 adolescent males in residential treatment at St. Mary's Children and Family Services and 71 adolescent males attending Hempstead High School.; To investigate the extent and type of traumatic experiences, the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire (TLEQ) (Kubany et al., 2000) was administered to all participants. Scores from The Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) (Briere, 1996) identified PTSD symptomatology and the experience of emotional numbness. To investigate levels of gang-involved delinquent behavior, each participant completed the self-report gang involvement subscale of the Denver Youth Survey (DYS) (OJJ, 2001) and The Self Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) evaluated levels of resiliency (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1991).; Results indicated that the juvenile delinquent residential treatment setting participants had significantly higher levels than the comparison group of both PTSD symptomatology and emotional numbing. Results also revealed that emotional numbing in this group positively correlated with gang-involved delinquent behavior. In addition, the low resiliency scores of residential treatment setting participants positively correlated with both gang involvement and delinquency. Practical implications of this study were discussed, including the effectiveness of screening for PTSD symptomatology when considering admission to a residential treatment facility and creating treatment goals.