Joining a criminal organization or participating in any kind of criminal activity involves numerous risks. Why do some young individuals decide to take these risks and embark on criminal life paths? A first step toward answering this question is to understand how youth rationalize violence and criminal behavior and under what conditions they justify involvement in crime. Relevant literature suggests that both contextual factors (e.g., socioeconomic condition, exposure to crime and...
More DescriptionJoining a criminal organization or participating in any kind of criminal activity involves numerous risks. Why do some young individuals decide to take these risks and embark on criminal life paths? A first step toward answering this question is to understand how youth rationalize violence and criminal behavior and under what conditions they justify involvement in crime. Relevant literature suggests that both contextual factors (e.g., socioeconomic condition, exposure to crime and violence during childhood) and individual incentives are important determinants of youth involvement in criminal life. Following standard theories of blame attribution, we use a mixed-methods approach to investigate the motivations and justifications for youth violence and crime in urban Mexico.First, we conduct a face-to-face survey representative of youth in urban Mexico-with 2,880 individuals aged 16 to 29 in approximately 100 urban municipalities-to understand how socioeconomic characteristics and potential protective factors against delinquency relate to violence normalization and gang participation. Second, we embed a vignette experiment to test a set of hypotheses about blame attribution for criminal acts. Third, we conduct seven focus groups to further explore the mechanisms that mediate attitudes toward violence and drive the justification and blame attribution of crime involvement. We also explore how protective factors, as incorporated into prevention interventions, may mediate these attitudes. We explore which intervention components may work and why.Our study contributes to a better understanding of patterns regarding Mexican youths' exposure to violence and crime, how these individuals rationalize violence and involvement in criminal life, as well as how they attribute blame for different criminal acts. The study also underscores the role of normalization of extreme forms of violence, perceptions on the state and societal responsibility for youth involvement in criminal organizations, and the relevance of local crime dynamics in shaping these phenomena. These findings are crucial to design better policy responses for crime prevention. We generate actionable recommendations from our results.