The risks of exposure: the impact of social circles on youth gang involvement and criminal behavior in adulthood

Social interactions within deviant circles during adolescence increase the likelihood of criminal behavior in the ensuing years. Similarly, exposure to gang-involved peers, parents, siblings, and cousins heightens the likelihood of gang membership. However, few studies have simultaneously considered the impact of exposure to both gang and criminal justice-involved circles. This study addresses this gap by using logistic regression and administrative data from Multnomah County, Oregon, on male adolescents who received a criminal referral between 2002 and 2017. Our findings reveal that exposure to social circles with both gang and criminal justice significantly influences gang membership, whereas exposure to non-gang-related criminal networks is more strongly associated with adult incarceration or probation. Further analysis indicates that fathers, same-generation family members, and peers play a significant role in influencing both gang membership and adult involvement with the criminal justice system, including arrest and probation. The findings illuminate the importance of examining the entire array of negative affiliations among adolescents and including a multidimensional context of youths' deviant relationships.