Ethnic Identity, Social Group Membership, and Youth Violence.

Abstract

Research in the area of youth violence has identified multiple causes and pathways of development that lead to aggression, violence, and other problem behaviors (Patterson, DeBaryshe, & Ramsey, 1989;Tolan, Guerra, & Kendall, 1995). An array of risk and protective factors has been delineated emphasizing individual, peer, family, and community predictors. Given the disproportionate rates of youth violence among ethnic minority youth, it is particularly important to examine the salience of these risk factors for children from distinct ethnic groups as well as to examine risk factors directly linked to an individual's ethnic background.In general, this area of inquiry has been somewhat neglected. In particular, there is a paucity of research that focuses on the psychological processes related to ethnicity that increase or decrease the risk of youth violence. For the most part, the link between ethnicity and violence has been attributed Data collection for the work reported in this chapter was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH43084) and the Carnegie Corporation (B4850) awarded to Edward

The Relationship Between School Multiculturalism and Interpersonal Violence: An Exploratory Study

“…Although there was also a positive association between multiculturalism and ethnic identity, ethnic identity was not statistically associated with interpersonal violence. Whereas researchers have noted the importance of a multicultural context for ethnic identity development, the relation between ethnic identity and youth interpersonal violence is not altogether clear and conclusive since studies among Asians and Hispanic youth have yielded mixed results 22,34,35 …”

“…Ethnic identity is another potential mediator linking multiculturalism and interpersonal violence. Although research has shown that positive identity development is protective against interpersonal violence, ethnic minority adolescents often have difficulty with developing a positive identity as they may feel that they are not supported or valued because of the presence of racism and marginalization in the mainstream American society 22 . Multiculturalism, however, is arguably supportive of an environment inclusive of individuals from various ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, thus facilitating positive ethnic identity development for all groups.…”

The Moderating Role of Centrality on Associations Between Ethnic Identity Affirmation and Ethnic Minority College Students’ Mental Health

“…30 In examining African Americans' healthy development, ethnic affirmation is consistently related to higher self-esteem and better academic achievement. 12,31 Studies on Latino populations have yielded mixed findings regarding the role of ethnic affirmation in development, with some studies reporting that ethnic affirmation predicts lower rates of delinquency, 32 and higher self-esteem, 12 but one study showing that ethnic affirmation is positively associated with deviant behaviors. 30 Although work with Asian Americans is more limited, studies have found that higher levels of ethnic affirmation are associated with less delinquency, 33 higher self-esteem, 12,34 and fewer depressive symptoms.…”

L’adhésion à la culture de gang

“…Des études soulignent que les jeunes associés à un gang de rue pré-sentent également un sentiment d'appartenance plus élevé envers leurs origines ethniques que ceux n'y étant pas associés (French, Kim et Pillado, 2006 ;Knight et al, 2012). L'homogénéité de la composition ethnique de plusieurs gangs peut amener les jeunes membres de ces groupes à s'y associer pour obtenir plus d'informations sur ce que cela signifie d'être d'une certaine origine ethnique, tout en offrant une plateforme pour commettre davantage d'actions délinquantes par l'entremise des activités liées aux gangs.…”