Acculturation and Violence-Related Attitudes among College Students

• In Event: Roundtable: Youth Violence

Abstract

Research has shown that attitudes about the criminal justice system vary by ethnicity (e.g. Hagan, Shedd, & Paye, 2005). The main purpose of this study is to examine if attitudes about criminals and the policies used by the criminal justice system are related to acculturation, acculturative stress, and aggression. Four hundred and fourteen college students (64.7% female, 35.3% male) completed an online survey containing a short acculturation scale, acculturative stress scale, Aggression Questionnaire (2001), and the Violence-Related Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (2006). Results showed acculturation to be negatively correlated with support of prevention resources and positively correlated with the belief that violent behavior is caused by individual differences in biology and environment. Those who reported higher levels of acculturative stress tended to be less supportive of prevention resources and less strongly believed biology was a causal factor for violent behavior. Finally, students who scored higher on the aggression questionnaire reported more support of both punitive criminal justice policies and prevention resources. Limitations to this study and future research considerations on the relationship between acculturation and violence-related attitudes are discussed.

Author

• Sarah Devoto, University of California, Santa Barbara