Residence in Immigrant Enclaves and Violence: The Importance of Place in the Life Course

• In Event: Immigration and Crime

Abstract

A growing literature finds that first generation immigrants are less likely to be involved in crime and violence than are successive generations, even as successive generations improve across a number of educational and economic indicators (Bui & Thingniramol, 2005; Butcher & Piehl 1998; Hagan et al, 2008; Rumbaut & Ewing, 2007). Scholars have hypothesized that living in an immigrant enclave is one of the mechanisms by which first generation immigrants may be protected from a number of adverse behavioral & health consequences (Portes & Zhou, 2003). However, within the criminological literature, little is known about the long-term consequences of living in an immigrant enclave. We draw on a life course perspective to examine the associations among immigrant enclave status, generational status, and risk for violence in young adulthood. Using multiple waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) we specifically examine how residing in an immigrant enclave in adolescence and in young adulthood may contextualize the association between immigrant generational status and risk for violence in young adulthood. In addition, we examine how emerging attainments in young adulthood--education and employment in particular--may mediate these associations.

Authors

• Jorge M. Chavez, Bowling Green State University

• Danielle C. Kuhl, Bowling Green State University

• Raymond R. Swisher, Bowling Green State University