Between Worlds, Between Frames: Cultural Heterogeneity and Offending Across Race and Immigrant Generation

• In Event: Immigration, Crime and Criminal Justice: Exploring Variations by Ethnicity, Race, and Culture

Abstract

The generational disparity in offending where first-generation immigrants are less likely than second-generation immigrants to be involved in crime is robust across empirical research but lacks full theoretical explanation, particularly considering the role of cultural context, alongside structural elements, in shaping outcomes. I focus on neighborhood cultural heterogeneity, referring to the presence of a wide array of cultural models for behavior (Harding, 2007; 2011) to re-invoke culture into the study of immigrant offending behavior, but centering heterogeneity in cultural frames rather than the dominance of oppositional values in non-U.S. cultures. Utilizing data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), I examine (1) whether exposure to neighborhood heterogeneity in delinquent cultural frames varies by immigrant generation and racial-ethnic minority status, (2) whether the effect of cultural heterogeneity on delinquency varies by generation and racial-ethnic minority status, and (3) whether differential exposure and susceptibility to neighborhood cultural heterogeneity explain generational differences in delinquency. Results provide theoretical clarity regarding the role of neighborhood cultural context in shaping behavior for immigrants and successive generations and may inform policy efforts to foster positive and protective cultural experiences and support for migrant and ethnic minority youth.

Author

• Gabrielle Cabrera Wy, University of Maryland, College Park