Juvenile Justice System Outcomes Among Foreign-Born and Native-Born Latinos in the United States: An Exploratory Study

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-27-2015

Abstract

A growing body of research has identified a negative relationship between generational status and criminological outcomes such that foreign-born Latinos are significantly less likely to report offending, victimization, and drug use compared to their native-born counterparts. What has been explored to a lesser degree is the extent to which generational status impacts the experiences of Latino youth within the juvenile justice system. Using the Add Health data set, this article explores the prevalence of juvenile court involvement among foreign (i.e., first generation) and native-born (i.e., second generation or higher) Latino youth as well as the types of offenses for which they were adjudicated delinquent. Results suggest that significant differences exist between the foreign and native-born both in terms of juvenile court involvement and offense types. These findings are discussed relative to the extant literature and juvenile justice policy and practice.

Publication Title

Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice

Volume

13

Issue

4

First Page

428

Last Page

442

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1177/1541204014547592

ISSN

15412040

E-ISSN

15569330

Share

COinS