After Uvalde: Does perceived racism predict weapon-involved behavior in Latino male adolescents?

• In Event: Confronting the Tasks of Development in Challenging Circumstances

Abstract

We examine whether perceived racism, physical bullying and emotional well-being predict weapon-involved behavior among Latino male adolescents who attended both virtual and in-person school during the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent mass shooting of 19 predominantly Mexican-origin children and two Latina teachers by a Mexican-origin Latino man in Uvalde, Texas, brought into focus the embeddedness of racism in education and law enforcement systems designed to protect communities of color (Hill, 2022). While school mass shooters are overwhelmingly White and male (Gerard et al., 2015), little is known about the impact that racism may have on Latino male youth's orientation toward weapons use, especially those who are visible racial minorities. Shetgir et al. (2016) found that emotional distress and substance use increased the odds of weapon involvement for Latino youth in grades 7 to 12, while family connectedness attenuated this relationship. Having been bullied and gun carrying both predicted suicidality in Latino/a adolescents (Romero, et. al., 2018), but it is less clear if the relationship is bidirectional. In the present study, we analyzed data from the 2021 Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES; CDC, 2022), collected from a nationally representative sample of US adolescents attending public and private high schools during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analytic sample (N = 921) consisted of Latino male-identified adolescents in grades 9 through 12 (M = 16 years old) who were attending school in person and online. Preliminary multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that perceived racism increased the likelihood of bringing a weapon to school (OR = 1.46; p < .05 ) and carrying a gun (OR = 1.54; p < .001). However, when we added bullying and emotional well-being variables to the model, perceived racism was no longer significant, with physical bullying increasing the likelihood of carrying a gun by an odds ratio of 3.6 (p < .01) and the likelihood of bringing a weapon to school by an odds ratio of 3.1 (p < .05). Thinking about suicide increased the probability of carrying a gun (OR = 2.50, p < .05) and bringing a weapon to school (OR = 5.52, p < .01), while being sad increased the likelihood of carrying a gun (OR = 2.56, p <.05) but did not predict bringing a weapon to school. While these preliminary analyses support previous findings suggesting bullying and emotional distress predict weapon-involved behavior in adolescent males, this is one of few studies to link suicidality as a risk factor for bringing a weapon to school specifically among Latino male youth. Although perceived racism did not predict weapon-involved behavior once sadness, suicidality, and physical bullying were added to the model, the association between racism (including internalized racism) and psychological distress and peer aggression should continue to be examined across specific ethnic subgroups (e.g., Mexican American, Puerto Rican) and through the lens of within-group hostility (e.g., anti-Indigenous colorism, homonegativity), assimilation to ideals of White masculinity, immigration, and the role of familismo, machismo, and caballerismo within families and individuals.

Authors

• Azucena Verdin, Texas Woman's University

• Kassandra Hernandez, Texas Woman's University
  Presenting Author