Youth street gang involvement in Iceland

A multilevel analysis using ISRD4

Abstract

Abstract:
This study examines youth street gang involvement in Iceland using data from the Icelandic sample of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD4). The study is based on a randomly selected class-based sample of over 3,000 adolescents aged 13-17 in the Reykjavík capital area. Drawing on Vigil’s theory of multiple marginality, the study investigates whether gang involvement is associated with immigrant background, social marginalization, family adversity, and criminogenic community contexts. Gang membership was measured using the Eurogang operationalization. Multilevel logistic regression models were employed to account for clustering within schools. The findings show that immigrant background was not signifi cantly associated with gang involvement. Instead, experiences of social marginalization emerged as more important predictors. Perceived discrimination, violent hate crime victimization, and family strain were all associated with increased odds of gang involvement, whereas parental supervision acted as a strong protective factor. At the school-community level, social disorder and weak informal social control were associated with higher odds of gang membership, whereas concentrated disadvantage was not. An unexpected finding was that gang-involved youth reported relatively high levels of societal belonging compared to serious offenders who were not gang members, suggesting that gangs may provide marginalized youth with a sense of identity and social inclusion. The findings highlightthe importance of social exclusion, family context, and community environments in understanding youth gang involvement in Iceland.