NCJ Number
174689
Journal
Security Journal Volume: 11 Issue: 2-3 Dated: December 1998 Pages: 233-236
Date Published
1998
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Four hundred sixty-eight rural adolescents living on either side of the border between the United States and Mexico were surveyed to provide baseline data on cross-border differences among Hispanic youth prior to the countries' experiencing the full effects 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Abstract
The research conducted during 1991-93 provided a baseline of the traditional socialization process along the border. The 1991 study involved the prevalence of glue sniffing as an emerging problem in the southwestern United States. The second study focused on juvenile delinquency in general. The participants were ages 12-19 years and included black, white, American Indian, Mexican American, and Mexican adolescents. They completed the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT), which gathered information on 10 functional areas. The scores for peer relations, drug use and drug abuse, mental health, educational status, and social skills indicated problems. The major difference between the Mexican and Mexican American males was the higher pathology scores for Mexican Americans regarding peer relations, drug use and drug abuse, aggressive behavior and delinquency, and mental health. The main differences among Mexican and Mexican American females were the higher pathology scores for Mexican females in relation to mental health and educational status. Findings indicated that the male Hispanics in the United States experienced the greatest cross-border differences prior to the full implementation of NAFTA. Table and 15 references