Guns and Gangs – Revised

Abstract: The Guns and Gangs-Revised measure is a 67-item instrument based on a measure used in a previous study (Dodge, Pettit, and Bates, 1995). Fast Track's original version (Guns and Gangs) was added to the child instrument battery in Grade 7. Beginning in Grade 10, 37 new items were added to the 30-item Guns and Gangs measure to collect additional information on gang participation. The measure assesses recent involvement in gangs and use of weapons in the past year. The measure is divided into five sections: gang involvement, use/availability of small knives, use/availability of large knives, use/availability of guns owned by the child, and use/availability of guns owned by parents or other adults in his/her home. These items were only asked if the child reported gang membership in the last 12 months. They capture how the child found out about the gang, reasons for joining, gang initiation, potential consequences for not joining, how important the gang is to the child, how often the gang gets together, and gang activities (i.e. community activities, helping neighborhood residents, helping neighborhood kids, fighting with other gangs, providing protection for gang members, and illegal activities). Children who report that their gang participates in illegal activities are asked about specific illegal activities (i.e. stealing, joyriding, attacking people, selling drugs, other illegal activities, and other fun activities that are not illegal). The additional items include 6 Likert scale items capturing how being in the gang makes the child feel. The original 30 items of this measure have been combined to create 12 scales: 11 scales related to weapons and 1 related to gangs. The additional 37 items added in Grade 10 are used to create 3 additional scales for children who report gang membership in the last 12 months. Analysts should note that none of the scales are normally distributed. Due to the low rates of weapon use/availability and gang involvement, the scales are skewed to the right.

Who Completed this Measure?: select one

Cohort 1 - Administrative History

• Year 11 | grade 10 | age 16
• Year 12 | grade 11 | age 17

Cohort 2 - Administrative History

• Year 06 | grade 5 | age 11
• Year 07 | grade 6 | age 12

Cohort 3 - Administrative History

• Year 11 | grade 10 | age 16
• Year 12 | grade 11 | age 17

Technical Reports:

• Year 11
• Year 12

Raw Dataset Name: CyAW

Scored Dataset Name: GGRySCc

Keywords:
Assault, Gang Activity, Gang Involvement, Gun Ownership, Gun Use, Illegal Actions, Theft, Weapons

Is this Measure Available for Public Use?: Yes

Obtain Measure:
Download the measure here

SAS Code for Scale Creation:
Download the code here

Measure Items and Scales: