Ethnic Composition and Sentence Severity: Testing the Intervening Mechanism of Latino Threat

• In Event: Race, Ethnicity, Age, and Sanctions: Disparate Sentencing and Biased Perceptions of Offenders

Abstract

The link between minority population size and various social control outcomes is a well-documented finding in minority threat research. Recently, an increasing number of studies have tested the intervening mechanism of perceived threat, especially with regard to Latino threat. Although these studies have significantly advanced scholarship, they have largely captured perceived threat using only one or two items, leaving important questions surrounding the reliability and validity of these measures. The present study seeks to address this gap in literature by testing whether a multidimensional scale of Latino threat—encompassing economic, political, and criminal threats—can explain the relationship between Latino population size and sentence severity. Implications for theory and research will be discussed.

Author

• Arynn A Infante, Arizona State University