This study reassesses the generational disparity in immigrant offending. Patterns and predictors of offending are compared using traditional peer-based models and an alternative within-family (parent–child dyad) model.
Method:
The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979; NLSY79) and NLSY-Child and Young Adult (NLSY_CYA) data are merged to create an intergenerational data set to compare generational disparities in immigrant offending across peers and within families. Differences in self-reported offending (prevalence and variety) by immigrant generation are assessed using a combination of descriptive analyses (χ2 and analysis of variance) and regression models.
Results:
While NLSY_CYA children generally are at a greater risk of offending compared with the NLSY79 mothers, the difference in offending is greatest between first-generation mom and second-generation child dyads. Disparities in offending are driven in large part by exceedingly low levels of offending among first-generation immigrants.
Conclusion:
Although the factors driving an increase in offending between parent–child generations are not unique to immigrants, they are amplified in immigrant families. Whereas the second generation is remarkably similar to their U.S.-born counterparts in terms of their involvement in crime, suggesting a high degree of swift integration, the greater involvement in crime among the children of immigrants compared to their foreign-born mothers suggests a decline in well-being across successive generations.
AlbaRichardAbdel-HadyDaliaIslamTariqulMarotzKaren. 2011. “Downward Assimilation and Mexican Americans: An Examination of Intergenerational Advance and Stagnation in Educational Attainment.” Pp. 95–109 in The Next Generation: Immigrant Youth in a Comparative Perspective, edited byAlbaR.WatersM. C.. New York: New York University Press.
2.
Alvarez-RiveraLorna L.NoblesMatt R.LerschKim M.. 2014. “Latino Immigrant Acculturation and Crime.” American Journal of Criminal Justice39:315–30.
3.
AlwinDuane F.McCammonRyan J.. 2007. “Rethinking Generations.” Research in Human Development4:219–37.
4.
BersaniBianca E.2014a. “An Examination of First and Second Generation Immigrant Offending Trajectories.” Justice Quarterly31:315–43.
5.
BersaniBianca E.2014b. “A Game of Catch-Up? The Offending Experience of Second Generation Immigrants.” Crime & Delinquency60:60–84.
6.
BersaniBianca E.FineAdam D.PiqueroAlex R.SteinbergLaurenceFrickPaul J.CauffmanElizabeth. 2018. “Investigating the Offending Histories of Undocumented Immigrants.” Migration Letters, Special Issue15:147–66.
7.
BersaniBianca E.LoughranThomas A.PiqueroAlex R.. 2014. “Comparing Patterns and Predictors of Immigrant Offending among a Sample of Adjudicated Youth.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence43:1914–33.
8.
BersaniBianca E.PiqueroAlex R.. 2017. “Examining Systematic Crime Reporting Bias across Three Immigrant Generations: Prevalence, Trends, and Divergence in Self-Reported and Official Reported Arrests.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology33:835–57.
9.
BorjasGeorge J.1985. “Assimilation, Changes in Cohort Quality, and the Earnings of Immigrants.” Journal of Labor Economics3:463–89.
10.
BuiHoan N.2009. “Parent-Child Conflicts, School Troubles, and Differences in Delinquency across Immigration Generations.” Crime & Delinquency55:412–41.
11.
BuiHoan N.ThongniramolOrnuma. 2005. “Immigration and Self-Reported Delinquency: The Interplay of Immigration Generations, Gender, Race, and Ethnicity.” Journal of Crime and Justice28:71–99.
12.
ButcherKristin F.PiehlAnne Morrison. 1998. “Cross-City Evidence on the Relationship between Immigration and Crime.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management17:457–93.
13.
ChavesLeo R.2001. Covering Immigration: Popular Images and the Politics of the Nation. Berkeley: University of California Press.
14.
CohenJCohenP. 1983. Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Lawrence Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.
15.
De Los ReyesAndresKazdinAlan E.. 2004. “Measuring Informant Discrepancies in Clinical Child Research.” Psychological Assessment16:330–34.
16.
DiPietroStephanie M.BursikRobert J.. 2012. “Studies of the New Immigration.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science641:247–67.
17.
DiPietroStephanie M.CwickJaclyn. 2014. “Gender, Family Functioning, and Violence across Immigrant Generations.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency51:785–815.
Estrada-MartínezLorena M.PadillaMark B.CaldwellCleopatra HowardSchulzAmy Jo. 2011. “Examining the Influence of Family Environments on Youth Violence: A Comparison of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Non-Latino Black, and Non-Latino White Adolescents.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence40:1039–51.
20.
FixMichaelPasselJeffery S.. 1994. Immigration and Immigrants: Setting the Record Straight. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
21.
GansHerbert J.1992. “Second-Generation Decline: Scenarios for the Economic and Ethnic Futures of the Post-1965 American Immigrants.” Ethnic and Racial Studies15:173–92.
22.
GeorgiadesKatholikiBoyleMichael H.FifeKelly A.. 2013. “Emotional and Behavioral Problems among Adolescent Students: The Role of Immigrant, Racial/Ethnic Congruence and Belongingness in Schools.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence42:1473–92.
23.
GordonMilton M.1964. Assimilation and American Life: The Roles of Race, Religion, and National Origins. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
24.
GottfredsonMichael R.HirschiTravis. 1990. A General Theory of Crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
25.
HarkerKathryn. 2001. “Immigrant Generation, Assimilation, and Adolescent Psychological Well-Being.” Social Forces79:969–1004.
26.
HarrisKathleen Mullan. 1999. “The Health Status and Risk Behaviors of Adolescents in Immigrant Families.” Pp. 286–347 in Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance, edited byHernandezD. J.Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
27.
IbañezGladys E.AgudoMichelleMartinSteve S.O’ConnellDaniel J.AufRehabSheehanDiana M.. 2017. “Offending Behavior, Drug Use, and Mental Health among Foreign-Born versus U.S.-Born Latino Criminal Justice Clients.” Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health19:674–85.
28.
JenningsWesley G.ZgobaKristen M.PiqueroAlex R.ReingleJennifer M.. 2013. “Offending Trajectories among Native-Born and Foreign-Born Hispanics to Late Middle Age.” Sociological Inquiry83: 622–47.
29.
Karthick RamakrishnanS.2004. “Second-Generation Immigrants? The ‘2.5 Generation’ in the United States.” Social Science Quarterly85:380–99.
30.
KasinitzPhilipMollenkopfJohn H.WatersMary C.HoldawayJennifer. 2008. Inheriting the City: The Children of Immigrants Come of Age. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
31.
KohutAndrewSuroRobertoKeeterScottDohertyCarrollEscobarGabriel. 2006. America’s Immigration Quandary. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
32.
KunzEgon F.1981. “Part II: The Analytic Framework: Exile and Resettlement: Refugee Theory.” International Migration Review15:42–51.
33.
LandaleNancy S.Salvador OropesaR.. 2007. “Hispanic Families: Stability and Change.” Annual Review of Sociology33:381–405.
34.
LeeMatthew T.MartinezRamiroJr, 2002. “Social Disorganization Revisited: Mapping the Recent Immigration and Black Homicide Relationship in Northern Miami.” Sociological Focus35:363–80.
35.
LeeMatthew T.MartinezRamiroJr. 2009. “Immigration Reduces Crime: An Emerging Scholarly Consensus.” Pp. 3–16 in Immigration, Crime and Justice, Vol. 13, Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, edited byMcdonaldW. F.Bingley, England: Emerald.
LopezGustavoRadfordJynnah. 2017. Facts on U.S. Immigrants, 2015: Statistical Portrait of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
38.
MacDonaldJohn M.HippJohn R.GillCharlotte. 2012. “The Effects of Immigrant Concentration on Changes in Neighborhood Crime Rates.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology29:191–215.
39.
MacDonaldJohn M.SaundersJessica. 2012. “Are Immigrant Youth Less Violent? Specifying the Reasons and Mechanisms.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science641:125–47.
40.
MannheimKarl. 1952. Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge. London, England: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
41.
MartinezRamiroJrStowellJacob I.LeeMatthew T.. 2010. “Immigration and Crime in an Era of Transformation: A Longitudinal Analysis of Homicides in San Diego Neighborhoods, 1980-2000.” Criminology48:797–829.
42.
MonahanKathryn C.PiqueroAlex R.. 2009. “Investigating the Longitudinal Relation between Offending Frequency and Offending Variety”. Criminal Justice and Behavior36:653–673.
43.
MorenoffJeffrey D.AstorAvraham. 2006. “Immigrant Assimilation and Crime: Generational Differences in Youth Violence in Chicago.” Pp. 36–63 in Immigration and Crime: Race, Ethnicity and Violence, edited byMartinezR. J.ValenzuelaA. J.. New York: New York University Press.
44.
OsgoodD. WayneMcMorrisBarbara J.PotenzaMaria T.. 2002. Analyzing Multiple-item Measures of Crime and Deviance I: Item Response Theory Scaling. Journal of Quantitative Criminology18:267–296.
45.
OuseyGraham C.KubrinCharis E.. 2009. “Exploring the Connection between Immigration and Violent Crime Rates in U.S. Cities: 1980-2000.” Social Problems56:447–73.
46.
OuseyGraham C.KubrinCharis E.. 2018. “Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Contentious Issue.” Annual Review of Criminology1:63–84.
47.
ParkJulieMyersDowell. 2010. “Intergenerational Mobility in the Post-1965 Immigration Era: Estimates by an Immigrant Generation Cohort Method.” Demography47:369–92.
48.
PegueroAnthony A.2013. “An Adolescent Victimization Immigrant Paradox? School-Based Routines, Lifestyles, and Victimization across Immigration Generations.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence42:1759–73.
49.
PerlmannJoel. 2005. Italians Then, Mexicans Now: Immigrant Origins and the Second-Generation Progress, 1890-2000. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
50.
Pew Research Center. 2013. Second-Generation Americans: A Portrait of the Adult Children of Immigrants. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
51.
PortesAlejandroFernandez-KellyPatriciaHallerWilliam. 2009. “The Adaptation of the Immigrant Second Generation in America: A Theoretical Overview and Recent Evidence.” Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies35:1077–4.
52.
PortesAlejandroRumbautRubén G.. 2006. Immigrant America: A Portrait. Berkeley: University of California Press.
53.
PortesAlejandroZhouMin. 1993. “The New Second Generation: Segmented Assimilation and Its Variants.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science530:74–96.
54.
PowellDarciPerreiraKrista M.HarrisKathleen Mullan. 2010. “Trajectories of Delinquency from Adolescence to Adulthood.” Youth & Society41:475–502.
55.
ReingleJennifer M.JenningsWesley G.Maldonado-MolinaMildred M.. 2011. “Generational Differences in Serious Physical Violence among Hispanic Adolescents: Results from a Nationally Representative, Longitudinal Study.” Race and Justice1:277–91.
56.
RogosaDavid R.WillettJohn B.. 1983. “Demonstrating the Reliability of the Difference Score in the Measurement of Change.” Journal of Educational Measurement20:335–343.
57.
RosenfeldRichard2018. “Studying Crime Trends: Normal Science and Exogenous Shocks.” Criminology56:5–26.
58.
RumbautRubén G.2004. “Ages, Life Stages, and Generational Cohorts: Decomposing the Immigrant First and Second Generations in the United States1.” International Migration Review38:1160–1205.
59.
RumbautRubén G.2005. “Immigration, Incorporation, and Generational Cohorts in Historical Contexts.” Pp. 43–88 in Historical Influences on Lives and Aging, edited byWarner SchaieK.ElderG. H.. New York: Springer.
60.
RumbautRubén G.GonzalesRoberto G.KomaieGolnazMorganCharlie V.RosauraTafoya-Estrada. 2006. “Immigration and Incarceration: Patterns and Predictors of Imprisonment among First- and Second-Generation Young Adults.” Pp. 64–89 in Immigration and Crime: Race, Ethnicity, and Violence, edited byMartinezR.JrValenzuelaA.Jr, New York: New York University Press.
61.
SampsonRobert J.2008. “Rethinking Crime and Immigration.” Contexts7:28–33.
62.
SampsonRobert J.MorenoffJeffreyRaudenbushStephen W.. 2005. “Social Anatomy of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Violence.” American Journal of Public Health95:224–32.
63.
SampsonRobert J.RaudenbushStephen W.. 2004. “Seeing Disorder: Neighborhood Stigma and the Social Construction of ‘Broken Windows’.” Social Psychology Quarterly67:319–42.
64.
SmithJames P.2003. “Assimilation across the Latino Generations.” The American Economic Review93:315–19.
65.
SohoniDeneeshSohoniTracy W. P.. 2014. “Perceptions of Immigrant Criminality: Crime and Social Boundaries.” The Sociological Quarterly55:49–71.
66.
St. JeanPeter K. B.2007. Pockets of Crime: Broken Windows, Collective Efficacy, and the Criminal Point of View. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
67.
SutherlandEdwin H.1927. “Is There Undue Crime among Immigrants?” Pp. 572–78 in National Conference on Social Welfare. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Library.
68.
TellesEdward E.OrtizVilma. 2008. Generations of Exclusion: Mexican Americans, Assimilation, and Race. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
69.
TonryMichael H.1997. Ethnicity, Crime and Immigration: Comparative and Cross National Perspectives. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
70.
VaughnMichael G.Salas-WrightChristopher P.. 2018. “Immigrants Commit Crime and Violence at Lower Rates than the US-Born Americans.” Annals of Epidemiology28:58–60.
71.
VaughnMichael G.Salas-WrightChristopher P.DeLisiMattMaynardBrandy R.. 2014. “The Immigrant Paradox: Immigrants Are Less Antisocial than Native-Born Americans.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology49:1129–37.
72.
WadsworthTim. 2010. “Is Immigration Responsible for the Crime Drop? An Assessment of the Influence of Immigration on Changes in Violent Crime Between 1990 and 2000.” Social Science Quarterly91:531–53.
73.
WarnerW. L.SroleL.. 1945. The Social Systems of American Ethnic Groups. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
74.
WatersMary C.PineauGerstein Marisa. 2015. The Integration of Immigrants into American Society, Committee on Population. Washington, DC: National Academy of Science.
75.
XieYuGreenmanEmily. 2011. “The Social Context of Assimilation: Testing Implications of Segmented Assimilation Theory.” Social Science Research40:965–84.
