Gang problems in nometropolitan areas: A longitudinal assessment

The spread of youth gangs to nonmetropolitan counties in the 1990s has been widely cited but difficult to document empirically and interpret theoretically. Using merged data from the 1996, 1997, and 1998 National Youth Gang Surveys, and matching the combined National Youth Gang Surveys with demographic data from the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, we provide a comparative analysis of social, economic, and demographic differences among nonmetropolitan jurisdictions in which gangs are reported to have been persistent problems, those in which gangs have been more transitory, and those which report no gang problems. Drawing indicators from four distinct frameworks for explaining community differences in gang problems—ecological, economic deprivation, population composition, and social diffusion—we assess the application of explanations for urban gangs to less urbanized areas.