Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: While works abound on delinquent gangs, there is not much research on certain other social aspects of delinquency, such as the fact that some delinquent acts are committed alone and some are committed with others. We did a log-linear analysis of co-offending, using several independent and intermediate variables, including race/ethnicity. We found that most youth in custody had committed their offenses with others, most offenses were property offenses, and property offenses were more likely than violent offenses to be committed with others. While Hispanics were more likely to commit both property and violent offenses with others, they committed violent offenses with others at a significantly higher rate than did whites and blacks; and they committed property offenses with others at a significantly lower rate than did whites and black. There were no significant differences between whites and blacks. We tentatively suggest that relative differences in cultural valorization of goals--wealth and property for whites and blacks, and honor for Hispanics--may be a factor in these differences, and that delinquency committed with others would likely involve a shared, more valorized goal, and those committed alone would likely involve less valorized goals.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In 2006, 355,312 American Community Survey respondents claimed one or more Hispanic ancestries when asked “What is your ancestry or ethnic origin?” 22,542 of these Hispanic descendants answered in the negative when asked “Are you Spanish/Hispanic/Latino?” Six percent of Americans with Hispanic ancestry did not identify as Hispanic when asked directly. They are the Hispanic non-Hispanics. This paper seeks to explain their prevalence as a function of identificational assimilation, non-Hispanic proximal hosts, and Hispanic/class stigmatization. By putting these concepts to empirical test, it becomes clear that nativity, ancestry, race, and economic standing are all highly predictive of Hispanic identity. Most importantly, it is found that Americans of Hispanic ancestry who are of high economic standing are less likely to identify as Hispanic than those of lower economic standing. It is shown here that wholesale exclusion of Hispanic non-Hispanics which is standard practice in social scientific studies of Hispanic advancement downwardly bias our assessments of their collective socioeconomic achievements. I argue in favor of a more inclusive definition of the Hispanic population—one that includes all those who acknowledge there Hispanic ancestry and/or those who identify as Hispanic.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime has been extensively tested by researchers in the field of criminology, and measures of self-control have been shown to predict crime, delinquency, and deviance. Many researchers have also investigated the ability of the theory to explain delinquency across both gender and race/ethnicity. Very few researchers, however, have tested self-control theory with Hispanic youth, and no research has compared the sex gap in self-control and delinquency between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. There is reason to suspect that gender ideology within families varies across race/ethnic groups and both ideological and physical control may differ when comparing Hispanics to whites. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), this research investigates differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites, including comparisons of racial/ethnic differences in the gender gap in both delinquency and self-control.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Will the arrival of Hispanics as the nation’s largest minority group translate into true political clout despite the contested nature of their identity? The perception of “Hispanic” identity as one akin to an ethnicity or a race will not only determine the type of Hispanic outreach pursued by political parties, but their ultimate level of success. Using content analysis of outreach materials and interviews with political strategists, I argue that the assessment of the state of Hispanic identity by the Democratic and Republican parties decides their method of outreach. The ultimate partisan alignment of Hispanics will signify the status of “Hispanicity” based on their motivation for political mobilization on either the axes of solidarity or an adherence to a belief in the American Dream.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The present study assesses the relationship between acculturation and intimate partner violence (IPV) among 516 Hispanic and non-Hispanic undergraduates within a diverse immigrant college sample. The total sample consisted of 50 % Hispanic, 24% African-American, 14% White and 12% Asian, bi-racial and other descent, which were either not born in the United States or born in the United States but parents born abroad. Acculturation was measured by using three indices (length of time in the United States, generation and language spoken at home). Results found that approximately 30% of the men perpetuated minor physical violence and 37% of the women were victims of minor physical violence. There was no association between the three indices and IPV. However, when comparing Hispanic and Non-Hispanic immigrant males, rates of physical violence were associated with the non-Hispanic group and years in the United States. Social Support was evaluated to assess mediating effects between years in the United States and IPV for both immigrant groups. Results showed no relationship between social support, rates of IPV and years in United States for Hispanic and non-Hispanic immigrant males. Further research is necessary to determine what additional factors along with acculturation contribute to IPV among immigrant groups.