The presence of serious gang involvement in elementary schools

Although research has shown that gang involvement by youths is a serious problem, the focus of most of this research is older youths. There is a scarcity of research that examines the gang involvement by elementary school children. This study evaluates second and fourth grade students for potential involvement, exposure to risk factors, and general knowledge of gang activity in their community. Data were collected from two public schools in a highly ethnically diverse urban area in Pennsylvania. Results found that although a small number of students reported being involved in gangs, caution must be taken when interpreting data as results are preliminary in nature and it is unclear how young students perceived the word 'gang.