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PEDIATRICS Vol. 110 No. 5 November 2002, pp. e57

ELECTRONIC ARTICLE

Gang Involvement and the Health of African American Female Adolescents

Gina M. Wingood, ScD, MPH*,{ddagger}, Ralph J. DiClemente, PhD*,{ddagger},§, Rick Crosby, PhD*,{ddagger}, Kathy Harrington, MPH, MAEd||, Susan L. Davies, PhD, MEd and Edward W. Hook, III, MD#

* Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Atlanta, Georgia
{ddagger} Emory Center for AIDS Research, Atlanta, Georgia
§ Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics (Division of Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology and Immunology), Atlanta, Georgia
|| School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
School of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama
# School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama

--> Objective. To examine the association between gang involvement and female adolescents’ health.

Methods. African American adolescent females (N = 522) completed a survey that assessed their history of gang involvement and health behaviors and provided specimens that were analyzed for marijuana use and sexually transmitted diseases.

Results. In logistic regression analyses, adolescents with a history of gang involvement were more likely to have been expelled from school (odds ratio [OR]: 3.6), be a binge drinker (OR: 3.3), have a positive toxicologic test for marijuana (OR: 2.6), have been in 3 or more fights in the past 6 months (OR: 3.8), have a nonmonogamous partner (OR: 2.4), and test positive for Trichomonas vaginalis (OR: 2.2) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (OR: 3.6).

Conclusion. This study extends the current research on risk behaviors associated with gang involvement to include biological markers for substance use and sexual health outcomes, namely, marijuana use and sexually transmitted diseases.

Key Words: female gang involvement • sexually transmitted diseases • marijuana

Abbreviations: STD, sexually transmitted disease • HIV, human immunodeficiency virus

Received for publication Mar 11, 2002; Accepted Jul 12, 2002.




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