Abstract
Importance
There is no longitudinal evidence on risk factors for gang membership in low- and middle-income countries, despite organised crime groups posing major challenges, including high homicide rates in Latin America. Furthermore, adverse childhood experiences have been largely overlooked in gang-related research worldwide.
Objective
To examine the associations of adverse childhood experiences up to age 15 years on past-year gang membership at age 18, and compare crime and criminal justice involvement between gang and non-gang members.
Design
1993 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort – an ongoing population-based, prospective study. Assessments were undertaken perinatally (1993) and when the children were aged 11 (2004), 15 (2008), 18 (2011), and 22 (2015) years.
Setting Pelotas city, Southern Brazil.
Participants
All children born in 1993 were eligible (N = 5,265), and 5,249 (99.7%) were enrolled at birth. The study sample (N = 3,794, 72.3%) included those with complete data on adverse childhood experiences. Data analyses were conducted from February to August 2024.
Exposures
Twelve adverse childhood experiences were assessed up to age 15 via child self-report and/or maternal report, including physical neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, maternal mental illness, parental divorce, ever being separated from parents, parental death, poverty, discrimination, and neighbourhood fear. These were examined using a single adversity approach, cumulative risk, and latent classes.
Main outcomes and measures Past-year gang membership at age 18, assessed via self-report.
Results
Of 3,794 participants, 1,964 (51.8%) were female and 1,830 (48.2%) were male, and 703 (18.5%) were Black, 2,922 (77.0%) were White, and 169 (4.5%) were coded as ‘other’. There were 1.6% (SE = 0.2) reported gang membership. Physical (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.27-5.98) and emotional abuse (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.51-5.02), domestic violence (OR 3.39, 95% CI 1.77-6.48), parental divorce (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.17-3.54), and separation from parents (OR 3.13, 95% CI 1.54-6.37) were associated with increased risk of gang membership. A dose-response relationship was observed (p = 0.003), with four or more adverse childhood experiences increasing the risk (OR 8.86; 95% CI 2.24-35.08). In latent class analysis, the class with child maltreatment and household challenges was associated with higher risk of gang membership than the low adversities class (OR 7.10, 95% CI 2.37-21.28). There was not robust evidence that children exposed to household challenges and social risks were at increased risk of gang membership (OR 2.28, 95% CI 0.46-11.25).
Conclusions and relevance
In this prospective cohort study, adverse childhood experiences, particularly child maltreatment and family conflict, were associated with gang involvement when examined individually, cumulatively, and as clusters in a high crime environment in Brazil.
There is no longitudinal evidence on risk factors for gang membership in low- and middle-income countries, despite organised crime groups posing major challenges, including high homicide rates in Latin America. Furthermore, adverse childhood experiences have been largely overlooked in gang-related research worldwide.
Objective
To examine the associations of adverse childhood experiences up to age 15 years on past-year gang membership at age 18, and compare crime and criminal justice involvement between gang and non-gang members.
Design
1993 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort – an ongoing population-based, prospective study. Assessments were undertaken perinatally (1993) and when the children were aged 11 (2004), 15 (2008), 18 (2011), and 22 (2015) years.
Setting Pelotas city, Southern Brazil.
Participants
All children born in 1993 were eligible (N = 5,265), and 5,249 (99.7%) were enrolled at birth. The study sample (N = 3,794, 72.3%) included those with complete data on adverse childhood experiences. Data analyses were conducted from February to August 2024.
Exposures
Twelve adverse childhood experiences were assessed up to age 15 via child self-report and/or maternal report, including physical neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, maternal mental illness, parental divorce, ever being separated from parents, parental death, poverty, discrimination, and neighbourhood fear. These were examined using a single adversity approach, cumulative risk, and latent classes.
Main outcomes and measures Past-year gang membership at age 18, assessed via self-report.
Results
Of 3,794 participants, 1,964 (51.8%) were female and 1,830 (48.2%) were male, and 703 (18.5%) were Black, 2,922 (77.0%) were White, and 169 (4.5%) were coded as ‘other’. There were 1.6% (SE = 0.2) reported gang membership. Physical (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.27-5.98) and emotional abuse (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.51-5.02), domestic violence (OR 3.39, 95% CI 1.77-6.48), parental divorce (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.17-3.54), and separation from parents (OR 3.13, 95% CI 1.54-6.37) were associated with increased risk of gang membership. A dose-response relationship was observed (p = 0.003), with four or more adverse childhood experiences increasing the risk (OR 8.86; 95% CI 2.24-35.08). In latent class analysis, the class with child maltreatment and household challenges was associated with higher risk of gang membership than the low adversities class (OR 7.10, 95% CI 2.37-21.28). There was not robust evidence that children exposed to household challenges and social risks were at increased risk of gang membership (OR 2.28, 95% CI 0.46-11.25).
Conclusions and relevance
In this prospective cohort study, adverse childhood experiences, particularly child maltreatment and family conflict, were associated with gang involvement when examined individually, cumulatively, and as clusters in a high crime environment in Brazil.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | JAMA Network Open |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 27 Aug 2024 |
