HISPANIC ADOLESCENTS AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR: SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS AND TREATMENT IMPLICATIONS (FROM ETHNIC ISSUES IN ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH, 1990, P 147-171, ARLENE RUBIN STIFFMAN AND LARRY E. DAVIS, EDS.)

• NCJ Number: 147214
• Author(s): O Rodriguez; L H Zayas
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 25 pages
• Grant Number(s): 1RO1MH40387; 2PO1MH30569
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted by National Youth Gang Information Center Document Number B0171

Annotation

This paper reviews theories of antisocial behavior and considers sociocultural factors that must be considered when examining antisocial behavior among Hispanic youths.

Abstract

Most existing theories of antisocial behavior focus on the youth's disadvantaged status, antisocial environment, conventional bonding, peer bonding, and self-concept. A major gap in theoretical models of delinquent behavior and drug use in a conceptualization of the specific social and cultural values in which social-psychological processes occur. Three broad areas of sociocultural differences are relevant when discussing Hispanic adolescent antisocial behavior: unique cultural traditions possessed by Hispanics, the immigrant character of Hispanic inner-city populations, and the nature of the inner-city neighborhood environment, characterized by high levels of social disorganization and the preponderance of the lowest levels of the stratification ladder. Family and community-group approaches to the prevention and treatment of antisocial behavior are through to be most relevant for Hispanic adolescents. 2 figures and 123 references