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The Effects of Birth Location and Sociological Influences on Violent Victimization Among Hispanic Youth

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Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice

Published online on

Abstract

Although prior research has found evidence of the relationship between acculturation and offending, a detailed examination as to whether acculturation extends to victimization is lacking. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine whether acculturation emerges as a factor relevant for violent victimization. Furthermore, this study sought to test the effects of sociological influences such as familial attachment to ascertain whether these effects account for the differences in violent victimization among foreign- and native-born Hispanics, while accounting for violent offending. Using data from a large nationally representative sample of Hispanic youth, the results indicated that there was a significant difference in violent victimization between foreign-born and native-born Hispanic youth. Also, despite the effect of familial attachment on violent victimization, elements of social learning (i.e., delinquent peers) and involvement in violent offending appear to better explain the violent victimization experiences among Hispanic youth.