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Psychosocial Interventions Preventing Gang-Related Crime Among Young People: A Systematic Review
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department for Police Work (IPA).ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5375-0065
Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Social Work and Criminology, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden.
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Criminology (KR).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2145-113X
Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm, Sweden; National Department for Operations, Swedish Police Authority, Stockholm, Sweden.
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2026 (English)In: Research on social work practice, ISSN 1049-7315, E-ISSN 1552-7581, Vol. 36, no 1, p. 3-23Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The objective was to assess the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in preventing gang membership and gang-related crime among children and young adults under the age of 30. We performed a systematic review and synthesized interventions targeting universal, selective, and indicated populations published between January 2000 and April 2023. We included 42 (seven randomized, 12 nonrandomized, 23 controlled interrupted time series) studies evaluating 33 unique psychosocial interventions. Synthesis without meta-analysis found a preventive effect of psychosocial interventions in middle schools on gang membership. Furthermore, meta-analysis found that focused deterrence strategies prevented gang-involved violence, and that psychosocial support during probation decreased crime recidivism. This systematic review found significant effects of four psychosocial interventions compared to control in reducing future criminality, especially gun violence, among children and young adults. The findings are discussed regarding policy implications and ethical considerations.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2026. Vol. 36, no 1, p. 3-23
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Social Work
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URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-72868DOI: 10.1177/10497315241305779ISI: 001382509700001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85212824890OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-72868DiVA, id: diva2:1923455
Available from: 2024-12-24 Created: 2024-12-24 Last updated: 2025-11-21Bibliographically approved

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Mellgren, CarolineGerell, Manne

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