Ethnic Harassment and Immigrant Youth's Engagement in Violent Behaviors: Understanding the Risk Factors

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine whether ethnic harassment was related to violent behaviors among immigrant youth over time and to identify the risk factors. The sample comprised immigrant adolescents living in Sweden (N = 365; M = 13.93, SD = 0.80). Results showed that the more youth were ethnically harassed, the more they engaged in violent acts over time. A separated identity significantly moderated the effect of ethnic harassment on youth's engagement in violent behaviors. Specifically, ethnic harassment positively predicted engagement in violent behaviors only at high levels of separated identity. Impulsivity and school ethnic composition did not act as moderators. The findings suggest that preventing violent behaviors among immigrant youth requires a focus on promoting positive interethnic relationships, and multicultural identity among immigrant youth.

The Role of Perceived Inter-Ethnic Classroom Climate in Adolescents’ Engagement in Ethnic Victimization: For Whom Does it Work?

“…Despite an increasing number of studies on ethnic victimization, the bulk of existing research has adopted a victim perspective that aims at understanding the consequences of being the target of negative treatment. Relatively little attention has been paid to understanding the problem from the perpetrator's perspective (Bayram Özdemir et al 2019;Caravita et al 2019;Larochette et al 2010), or to the factors that might counteract the occurrence of ethnic victimization. The present study aimed to address these gaps in knowledge by examining the extent to which perceived positive contact norms in classrooms and teachers' reactions to ethnic victimization play a role in adolescents' engagement in ethnicity-based negative treatments.…”

Differences and Similarities between Perpetrators of Ethnic and Non-Ethnicity-Based Victimization

“…Despite a growing body of research into this societal concern, the majority of existing research has adopted a victim perspective that aims to understand the consequences of being a target of negative treatment. By contrast, relatively little attention has been paid to understanding who the perpetrators of ethnic victimization are (e.g., Bayram Özdemir et al 2019 ; Caravita et al 2019 ). This gap in knowledge prompts the question of whether the youth who victimize their peers due to their ethnic background are also the ones who engage in non-ethnicity-based victimization.…”

“…Moreover, up to 30% of minority children were subjected to ethnicity-motivated social exclusion (Verkuyten and Thijs 2002 ). These negative experiences have detrimental consequences for immigrant and minority youth’s psychosocial and behavioral adjustment (Bayram Özdemir et al 2019 ; Priest et al 2013 ), and may jeopardize their integration into the host society (Marks et al 2015 ). Despite a growing body of research on ethnic victimization, it is still unclear who the perpetrators of ethnic victimization are (for exceptions see, e.g., Bayram Özdemir et al 2018 ; Caravita et al 2019 ).…”

“…Supporting the premises of self-control theory, empirical studies have shown that impulsive adolescents have difficulties in regulating their anger and overly react to minor frustrations (Colder and Stice 1998 ). These adolescents have also been found to display aggressive behaviors (Fanti and Kimonis 2012 ), engage in delinquent (see Vazsonyi et al 2017 for a meta-analysis) and violent behaviors (Bayram Özdemir et al 2016 , 2019 ), have positive attitudes toward bullying (Walters et al 2018 ), and be more likely to harass (Bayram Özdemir et al 2016 ) or bully their peers in school (Chui and Chan 2013 ; Jolliffe and Farrington 2011 ). All this applies especially with increasing age (see Geel et al 2017 for a meta-analysis).…”

Friend Support As a Buffer Against Engagement in Problem Behaviors Among Ethnically Harassed Immigrant Adolescents

“…The empirical findings also suggest that the consequences of experiencing peer harassment for youth’s externalizing difficulties are long term, and that the effects tend to be compounded (Reijntjes et al, 2011). However, the relation between ethnicity-based victimization and engagement in externalizing problems among ethnic minority (Hoglund & Hosan, 2013; Volk et al, 2006) and immigrant adolescents (e.g., Bayram Özdemir, Özdemir, & Stattin, 2017; McKenney et al, 2006) has received only scant attention. For example, McKenney and colleagues (2006) found that ethnic victimization experiences were positively linked to having externalizing problems (a combination of aggressive and delinquent behaviors) among first- and second-generation immigrant adolescents in Canada both concurrently and 1 year later.…”