Individual and familial characteristics of youths involved in street corner gangs in Singapore

Thirty-six youths involved in street corner gangs in Singapore were compared with 91 age-matched controls on measures of self-esteem, aggression, dysfunctional parenting and parent–adolescent communication. Results revealed that gang youths had lower self-esteem and higher levels of aggression than controls. Of note were the findings that gang youths reported a relative absence of parental abuse and indifference, and experienced less open communication and higher levels of over-control with their mothers, but not fathers. These findings diverge from anticipated familial correlates of antisocial activity in youths and were discussed with reference to cultural factors and their implications on prevention and intervention.