Gang Membership in a Developmental and Life‐Course Perspective

This chapter argues that a life-course perspective provides a framework for conceptualizing gang membership as a career that can vary according to the age of entrance (onset), duration (length of time as a gang member), and exit (or desistance from a gang). It provides a synthesis of studies that have used a developmental and life-course framework for examining gang membership and its consequences. The chapter first provides backdrop and context for the life-course perspective in criminology. Next, it presents a synthesis of gang research that has utilized a life-course framework and identifies some research gaps that can be used to build recent studies examining the development of gang membership. The chapter concludes with some ideas for a research agenda on the development of gang membership and its consequences, which will provide a particular focus on contexts that carry risk for gang involvement over the life course.