Influence of Risk and Protective Factors on School-aged Youth Involvement with Gangs, Guns, and Delinquency: Findings from the El Salvador Youth Survey

Youth participation in problem behavior, including crime and violence, especially in gang-related violence, has become a global concern over the past several years. The research that is the basis for this report was designed to provide policymakers in El Salvador with systematic empirical evidence to serve as the foundation for developing evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies for addressing such problem behavior. This research was organized around three research questions. First, it was designed to collect data that could be used to gauge the involvement of school-aged Salvadoran youth in gangs, guns, and delinquent activity. Second, the research was designed to identify factors that put school-aged youth at risk for and protect them from engaging with gangs, guns, and delinquency. Third, it was designed to determine which, if any, of those risk and protective factors would have cumulative effects on that involvement.