ABSTRACT
In general, the age of first offense appears to be an important predictor of the probability that a person will continue on to become multiple offenders. For this reason, the data on the youngest offenders are of particular interest in the study of youth violence. The immediate factors that influence violence during adolescence may be social factors rather than familial ones. Adolescent criminal gang activity has become a significant threat to public safety, both in the United States and abroad. Certainly, male preadolescent friendship groups tend to display many of the hallmarks of later adolescent gangs, including an emphasis on competition and loyalty and a rigid status hierarchy. They also de-emphasize emotional intimacy and emphasize shared activities instead. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms has even initiated a program with seventh graders titled Gang Resistance Education and Training. The impact such programs can have in the face of such significant social catalysts to gang violence remains to be seen.
