Poster #123 - Immigrants and Crime: Family Structure as a Mediator?

• In Event: ASC Poster Session II

Abstract

Despite stigmatizing media narratives linking immigration concentration to higher crime, empirical studies generally find a weak negative relationship. Using crime statistics from the National Incident Crime Study (NICS) and demographic variables from the U.S. Census and American Community Survey (ACS) for 2000, 2010, and 2018, we aim to study: (1) whether two-parent households in neighborhoods serve as significant mediators between immigration and crime rates; (2) whether children under 6 years old in two-parent households have a stronger effect on crime reduction than children aged 6–17 years; and (3) whether the mediating effect of two-parent households is stronger in new immigration destination cities compared to established destinations. We used fixed effects negative binomial regression models and studied at the census-tract level. This study extends Ousey and Kubrin’s (2009) city-level analysis to neighborhoods, underscores child age nuances and differentiates destination contexts.

Author

• Nunnally Zou, Louisiana State University