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Author: Decker, Scott H.
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Pyrooz, David Cyrus
LaFree, Gary
Decker, Scott H.
James, Patrick A.
Cut from the Same Cloth? A Comparative Study of Domestic Extremists and Gang Members in the United States
Justice Quarterly 35,1 (2018): 1-32.
Also: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07418825.2017.1311357
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
Keyword(s): Crime; Delinquency/Gang Activity

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

Despite calls for research on the similarities and differences between violent extremist groups and criminal street gangs, there have been few empirical comparisons. We develop a comparative model that emphasizes explicit, spurious, and indirect linkages between the two groups and use national sources of data on domestic extremists and gang members--the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97)--to compare them across group involvement, demographic, family, religion, and socioeconomic status characteristics. Six percent of domestic extremists in PIRUS have a history of gang ties, which constitutes a minimal proportion of domestic extremists and is likely the rare exception among the population of gang members. Gang extremists more closely resemble non-gang extremists in PIRUS than they do gang members in the NLSY97. While these groups have some similarities, one of the major differences is that gang members are younger than domestic extremists. This likely contributes to many of the other differences between the groups across the life course, including marriage, parenthood, unemployment, and education. Given that the evidence is most consistent with the independence model, further comparative testing is needed before generalizing gang-related policies and programs to domestic extremism.
Bibliography Citation
Pyrooz, David Cyrus, Gary LaFree, Scott H. Decker and Patrick A. James. "Cut from the Same Cloth? A Comparative Study of Domestic Extremists and Gang Members in the United States." Justice Quarterly 35,1 (2018): 1-32.
2. Pyrooz, David Cyrus
McGloin, Jean Marie
Decker, Scott H.
Parenthood as a Turning Point in the Life Course for Male and Female Gang Members: A Study of Within-Individual Changes in Gang Membership and Criminal Behavior
Criminology 55,4 (November 2017): 869-899.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1745-9125.12162/abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Society of Criminology
Keyword(s): Crime; Delinquency/Gang Activity; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Parenthood

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

The impact of parenthood on leaving a street gang is not well understood. This is likely because researchers in prior studies have not accounted for multiple dimensions of gang exit, possible gender differences, and potential selection bias. In this study, we use a sample of 466 male and 163 female gang members from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997 to consider the within-individual relationship between changes in parenthood and changes in claiming gang membership and offending. These data offer the opportunity to consider gender differences and birth parity (i.e., first or second child). The results from a series of fixed-effects models reveal that motherhood is associated with enduring reductions in both the odds of claiming gang membership and the rate of offending, whereas fatherhood has a temporary beneficial impact on gang membership and offending only for those fathers who reside with their children. In most cases, the beneficial effect of having a child rests in becoming a parent for the first time. On the whole, our study findings demonstrate that parenthood serves as a turning point for a particular group of noteworthy offenders—gang members.
Bibliography Citation
Pyrooz, David Cyrus, Jean Marie McGloin and Scott H. Decker. "Parenthood as a Turning Point in the Life Course for Male and Female Gang Members: A Study of Within-Individual Changes in Gang Membership and Criminal Behavior." Criminology 55,4 (November 2017): 869-899.