Criminology’s Foray Into (Somewhat) Uncharted Territory: What Can We Learn From a Sample of Somali Refugees?

• In Event: Somali Immigrants and Refugees: Societal Treatment and Youth Behavior

Abstract

This paper draws from a multi-disciplinary longitudinal research project that is looking into the experiences of Somali youth in North America. Though the primary focus of this larger project is not delinquency, the standardized interviews with 542 Somali youth in four North American cities do provide data on social bonding, collective efficacy, exposure to violence and strain, as well as self-reported delinquency. In the first part of the paper, we test the generalizability of mainstream criminological concepts to explain delinquency in a sample of Somalian refugees living in the USA. The second part of the paper explores the different measures of morality that are collected as part of the project. Morality is a central concept in normative compliance theories, and also plays a central role in Situational Action Theory. We examine the link between different measures of morality and self-reported delinquency in this sample. Implications for criminological theory are discussed.

Authors

• Ineke Haen Marshall, Northeastern University

• Emma Cardeli, Boston Children’s Hospital

• Saida M. Abdi, Boston Children’s Hospital

• Christopher E. Marshall, University of Nebraska, Omaha

• Heidi B. Ellis, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School