the results of the risk factor analyses are descriptively informative, but they are also theoretically limited. A risk factor approach provides a somewhat atomized view of gang members that is focused on individual variables; it fails to identify the causal processes by which more distal variables lead to more proximal variables and how they, in turn, lead to outcomes of interest. Indeed, as Farrington has noted, “a major problem with the risk factor prevention paradigm is to determine which risk factors are causes and which are merely markers or correlated with causes. It is also important to establish processes or developmental pathways that intervene between risk factors and outcomes, and to bridge the gap between risk factor research and more complex explanatory theories” (2000: 7). In this chapter we begin to address the general topic of identifying the causes of gang membership. The central question is, Why do some youths join street gangs while others manage to avoid the lure of the gang?

We address this question using two complementary approaches. The first approach is more qualitative and is based on the perceptions of the gang members. We asked them why they joined the gang and these open-ended responses provide information on their perceptions of the more immediate influences that led to their decision. The second approach is based in the tradition of causal modeling.