Preventing Violence among Gang-Involved and High-Risk Youth in El Salvador: The Role of School Motivation and Self-Control

Abstract

El Salvador, as a country of the Northern Triangle, exhibits significantly higher rates of crime and delinquency than the rest of the Latin American countries (World Bank 2011). Mass media portray transnational youth gangs in marginalized communities in Central American nations, such as El Salvador, as one of the main factors responsible for the high levels of violence. Few studies have empirically studied active youth gang members and high-risk youth in these contexts. Among the studies that have accessed active youth gang members, the focus has been on problem behaviors and risk factors analyses; little is known about what variables appear to serve as protective factors for these youth. Based on a cross-sectional sample of high-risk youth and youth gang members (n = 184) between the ages of 13 and 25 living in 10 urban communities in San Salvador, this study used linear regression modeling to analyze protective factors for three outcome variables: aggression, violence, and delinquency. Results reveal that self-control and school motivation act as important protective factors across the three domains, while school behavior is a protective factor of aggression and delinquency. Implications for community-based prevention and harm reduction policies are discussed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

René Olate

RENÉ OLATE, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University College of Social Work. He has conducted cross-national research on youth programs and worked as an international consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and United Nations. He is currently conducting longitudinal research about risk behaviors and protective factors on youth in El Salvador, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

Christopher P. Salas-Wright

CHRISTOPHER P. SALAS-WRIGHT, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and a Faculty Affiliate at the Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies. His research interests include youth problem behavior, religiosity and spirituality, and adolescent substance abuse and violence prevention.

Michael G. Vaughn

MICHAEL G. VAUGHN, Ph.D., is Professor in the School of Social Work at Saint Louis University. He has contributed more than 200 scholarly publications across a wide range of areas. Dr. Vaughn’s research interests include youth violence and drug use in relation to antisocial behavior over the life course. Current projects include a cell-to-society approach to the study of human behavior, youth violence prevention, school dropout, and drug use epidemiology.

Mansoo Yu

MANSOO YU, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work and the Master of Public Health Program, Director of the Ph.D. Program in Social Work, and policy research scholar in the Institute of Public Policy at the Truman School of Public Affairs at University of Missouri–Columbia. Areas of scholarship include epidemiology and prevention of health-risk behaviors (e.g., tobacco use and risky sexual behaviors), healthy and positive living, and health disparity across various population segments. Areas of teaching include epidemiology, research methods, and health disparity.