Neighborhood Structure, Immigrant Status, and Youth Violence: Assessing the Role of Parental Supervision

• NCJ Number: 248787
• Journal: Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Dated: 2014
• Author(s): Lori A. Burrington
• Date Published: August 2014
• Length: 8 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored)

Annotation

This study considers whether immigrant status further conditions the interplay between supervision and neighborhood characteristics, using data from a sample of adolescents residing in Chicago neighborhoods.

Abstract

Research indicates that children of immigrants are less likely to engage in violence than children of native-born parents, even when they live in high-risk neighborhoods, suggesting that foreign-born parents employ strategies that buffer children from delinquency. Parental supervision is important for adolescent well-being, and some scholars suggest it is especially important for adolescents residing in disadvantaged communities. Others argue supervision is more critical for youth residing in advantaged contexts, where parental involvement is normative. To date, evidence on the interplay between supervision and neighborhood characteristics is mixed, suggesting a more complex relationship. Findings of the current study indicate that less supervised, first-generation adolescents are more likely to perpetrate violence in low-risk neighborhoods, while less supervised, second- and third-generation adolescents are more likely to perpetrate violence in high-risk settings. (Publisher abstract modified)