Chapter 7: National Gang Problem Trends: 1996 to 2012

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. The first National Youth Gang Survey (NYGS) was completed in ______.

A. 1978

B. 1991

C. 1996

D. 2009

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: IntroductionDifficulty Level: Easy

2. W. Miller’s (2001) research on gang patterns suggested that gang activity peaked in ______.

A. the 1950s

B. the 1970s

C. the 1980s

D. the 1990s

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Gang Growth From the 1960s to the 1990sDifficulty Level: Easy

3. In which of the following ways did W. Miller’s (2001) conclusions about gang activity in the United States differ from findings from federal commissions at the time?

A. Miller found gangs to be a MORE serious societal issue than the federal commissions found.

B. Miller found gangs to be a LESS serious societal issue than the federal commissions found.

C. The federal commissions found gang activity to have grown substantially since the 1970s while Miller did not.

D. Miller found gang activity to be concentrated in middle-class areas, while the federal commissions found it to be concentrated in urban slums.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Gang Growth from the 1960s to the 1990sDifficulty Level: Hard

4. Which of the following is implied to be the most responsible for the strong influence of gang culture diffusion on gang development and growth in the 1980s and 1990s?

A. law enforcement agencies

B. politicians

C. gang members themselves

D. the media

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Explanations of Gang Growth in the 1980s and 1990sDifficulty Level: Hard

5. ______ implies that a survey could be used multiple times and the findings would be substantively similar over time.

A. validity

B. reliability

C. trajectory modeling

D. a study population

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nationally Reported Youth Gang Activity From the Mid-1990sDifficulty Level: Medium

6. The key difference between validity and reliability is that ______.

A. validity is about the consistency of results, while reliability is about the accuracy of capturing the study population

B. reliability is about the consistency of results, while validity is about accurately capturing the study population

C. validity is about the consistency of results over time, while reliability is about the extent to which a measure actually measures what it is intended to capture

D. reliability is about the consistency of results over time, while validity is about the extent to which a measure actually measures what it is intended to capture

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Nationally Reported Youth Gang Activity From the Mid-1990sDifficulty Level: Hard

7. Between 2002 and 2009, the percentage increase in jurisdictions with gang problems was ______ the percentage increase of the number of gangs reported in the National Youth Gang Survey (NYGS).

A. much less than

B. a little less than

C. exactly the same as

D. a little more than

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nationally Reported Youth Gang Activity From the Mid-1990sDifficulty Level: Medium

8. In Howell and colleagues’ (2011) updated trajectory models of gang activity, the T2 group represented cities with ______ T1 group.

A. the same prevalence of gang activity as the

B. an unknown prevalence of gang activity in relation to the

C. more consistent gang activity over time than the

D. less consistent gang activity over time than the

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Presence of Gang Activity, 1996 to 2012Difficulty Level: Hard

9. Cities reporting near-chronic gang presence are, on average, ______ those without a chronic gang presence.

A. about the same population as

B. smaller in population than

C. larger in population than

D. double in population than

Learning Objective:

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Presence of Gang Activity, 1996 to 2012Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Which type of gang problem is most common in larger cities?

A. chronic

B. variable

C. emerging

D. inconsistent

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Presence of Gang Activity, 1996 to 2012Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Which of the following is a key difference in the economic context of larger cities with increasing or emerging gang problems and those with chronic gang problems?

A. They have lower poverty rates among non-Whites than cities with chronic problems.

B. They have higher poverty rates among non-Whites than cities with chronic problems.

C. They have higher than average expenditures on social welfare than cities with chronic problems.

D. They have lower than average expenditures on social welfare than cities with chronic problems.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Economic ContextDifficulty Level: Medium

12. ______ scores account for the number and size of groups in the local population.

A. Homogeneity

B. Heterogeneity

C. Complete homogeneity

D. Complete heterogeneity

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Demographic ContextDifficulty Level: Easy

13. Which of the following is NOT an example of a demographic characteristic common to a city with chronic gang activity?

A. above-average percentage of female-headed households compared with other cities in the state

B. above-average percentage of residential instability compared with other cities in the state

C. above-average percentage of Whites in poverty compared with other cities in the state

D. above-average percentage of young males compared with other cities in the state

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Demographic ContextDifficulty Level: Medium

14. Which of the following is the most complex context to measure when comparing larger cities’ gang activity?

A. political and criminal justice

B. economic

C. demographic

D. cultural

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cultural ContextDifficulty Level: Medium

15. Which of the following is NOT an example of a law that punishes immorality?

A. a three-strikes law

B. a law setting the age of sexual consent at 16

C. a law making slot machines illegal

D. a law banning open liquor containers

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Cultural ContextDifficulty Level: Medium

16. All of the following are common components of “traditionalism” EXCEPT ______.

A. the government must attempt to keep social order

B. there is a commitment to maintaining the status quo

C. the interests of elites are often met

D. the interests of the disadvantaged are often met

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Cultural ContextDifficulty Level: Hard

17. In reference to political culture, it is implied that larger cities with chronic gang activity will ______.

A. support a utilitarian government

B. support private enterprise

C. support individual goals

D. support collective goals

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cultural ContextDifficulty Level: Medium

18. A ______ city is a representative locale for the political, economic, demographic, and cultural context of each gang activity trajectory.

A. chronic

B. modal

C. median

D. valid

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Modal CitiesDifficulty Level: Medium

19. ______ represents an average city with chronic gang activity.

A. Modesto, CA

B. Warwick, RI

C. Newport Beach, CA

D. Asheville, NC

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Modal CitiesDifficulty Level: Easy

20. ______ represents an average city with emerging gang activity.

A. Modesto, CA,

B. Warwick, RI,

C. Newport Beach, CA,

D. Asheville, NC,

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Modal CitiesDifficulty Level: Easy

21. Which of the following factors has received the LEAST empirical support in explaining what leads cities to develop emerging gang activity?

A. social disorganization

B. population migration

C. cultural diffusion

D. economic deprivation

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Factors Affecting the Emergence of Gangs in New CitiesDifficulty Level: Medium

22. Which of the following factors is shared among cities that have chronic and emerging gang problems?

A. population migration

B. returning prison gang members

C. gang histories

D. economic deprivation

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Factors Affecting the Persistence of Gang Activity in CitiesDifficulty Level: Hard

23. Which of the following class of factors is shared among cities that have chronic, emerging, and declining gang problems?

A. political

B. economic

C. demographic

D. cultural

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Explaining the Emergence, Persistence, and Decline of Gang ActivityDifficulty Level: Medium

Multiple Response

1. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following is a consequence of economic segregation that influenced gang development and growth in the 1980s and 1990s?

A. local disadvantage

B. social disorganization

C. increased heroin use

D. compromised social control

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Explanations of Gang Growth in the 1980s and 1990sDifficulty Level: Medium

2. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. It is implied that chronic gang problems in larger cities are more strongly associated with which of the following political climates and/or criminal justice contexts?

A. liberal cities

B. conservative cities

C. cities with fewer public defense resources for criminals

D. cities with more public defense resources for criminals

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Political and Criminal Justice ContextDifficulty Level: Hard

True/False

1. Miller’s (1982, 1992) research on the geography of gang presence in the United States occurred in the ways predicted by Thrasher (1927) and other Chicago school sociologists.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Gang Growth from the 1960s to the 1990sDifficulty Level: Hard

2. Gang growth in the 1980s and 1990s is associated at least partly with the unsuccessful assimilation of Latino and Caribbean immigrants.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Explanations of Gang Growth in the 1980s and 1990sDifficulty Level: Medium

3. Media portrayals of gangs have remained largely consistent over time.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Explanations of Gang Growth in the 1980s and 1990sDifficulty Level: Medium

4. It is implied that police are the best sources for collecting data on street-level gang trends.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Nationally Reported Youth Gang Activity From the Mid-1990sDifficulty Level: Hard

5. Smaller cities have a lower prevalence of gang activity than rural counties.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nationally Reported Youth Gang Activity From the Mid-1990s

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. In the United States, gang activity and violence is concentrated in the least populated areas of the country.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Presence of Gang Activity, 1996 to 2012Difficulty Level: Easy

7. The relationship between a city’s political and criminal justice context and the nature of its gang problem has been proven to be causal.

Learning Objective: N/A

Answer Location: Patterns of Gang Presence in Larger Cities

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Difficulty Level: Hard

8. Cities with a gang presence that is either chronic or variable are more likely to have crowded jails and prisons.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Patterns of Gang Presence in Larger CitiesDifficulty Level: Medium

9. The political cultures of large cities have no discernable impact on its local gang presence.

Learning Objective: N/A

Answer Location: Patterns of Gang Presence in Larger Cities

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Of the four regions in the United States, the Northwest is most likely to have cities with chronic gang activity.

Learning Objective: N/A

Answer Location: Patterns of Gang Presence in Larger Cities

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Difficulty Level: Medium

Short Answer

1. What were the reasons why gang prevalence rates in suburban counties were close to large cities from 1996 to 2012, especially when compared with other kinds of locales?

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nationally Reported Youth Gang Activity From the Mid-1990sDifficulty Level: Medium

2. What is trajectory modeling? How was this research method applied to gain insight into gang activity trends?

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Patterns in U.S. Localities’ Histories of Gang ActivityDifficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Explain the phenomenon of “gangsta rap,” describe how the medium is related to the growth of gangs in the 1990s.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: An Overview of Nationwide Gang Activity in the Modern EraDifficulty Level: Hard

2. Discuss how characteristics of larger cities influence the nature and extent of their gang problems. Be sure to assess preliminary findings regarding at least two different contexts (e.g., political, cultural) in your answer.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Patterns of Gang Presence in Larger CitiesDifficulty Level: Hard