The Impact of Racial Discrimination and Racial Socialization on Delinquency among African American Youth

• In Event: Correlates of Delinquency among Racial and Ethnic Minorities

Abstract

A growing body of research has utilized Unnever and Gabbidon’s (2011) Theory of African American offending to examine the impact that racial discrimination and racial socialization has on African American offending. To date, research in this area has mostly consisted of partial tests of the theory or it has focused on college and adult samples. Using an adolescent sample and the Theory of African American offending, the current research investigates the impact that perceptions of and experiences with racial discrimination, criminal justice injustices and racial stereotypes has on deviant and delinquent behavior. We also examine racial socialization practices as a protective or risk factor for African Americans adolescents' involvement in deviant and/or delinquent activities. The current research extends the literature by improving our understanding of the impact that racial discrimination and racial socialization has on deviance and delinquency among African American youth.

Authors

• Robin D. Jackson, Prairie View A&M University

• Shantae M. Motley, Prairie View A&M University