Adolescent Violence: Comparison between Monoracial and Biracial Asian Americans

Anh-Luu Huynh-Hohnbaum
Dept. of Social Welfare
UCLA
217 S. Catalina Ave. #1
Pasadena CA 91106
626-793-0128
anhluu@ucla.edu
 
Todd Franke
Dept. of Social Welfare
UCLA
5323 Public Policy Bldg
Los Angeles CA 90095
310-206-6102
tfranke@ucla.edu
Purpose:  Violence among adolescents is a spreading societal concern. Previous studies have looked at the role that race/ethnicity plays in adolescent violence.  However, few, if any, look at the impact of being biracial.  Not only are Asian Americans the fastest growing minority in the United States, but they also experience the highest interracial marriage rates among all racial/ethnic groups.  Thus, the number of biracial Asian Americans is growing dramatically.  This study's objectives were to examine differences between monoracial and biracial Asian American adolescents and how that may impact adolescent violence.
 
Methods: The data for the present analysis are drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Wave 1).  The sample of 18,924 were included with appropriate sampling weights, which was designed to estimate the more than 22 million 7th to 12th grade children in the United States. Information was gathered on respondent's health and health-related behaviors, emotional well-being, and family and educational environment. The two outcome variables for this study are self-reported measures on violence against persons and property. The analysis examined individual and family characteristics as predictors to violent behavior.  Socio-demographic variables, as well as measures of acculturation, depression, family cohesion, relationship with parent(s), activity with parents, and parental monitoring were created from items in the student questionnaires.
 
Results:  Logistic regression analysis revealed that there are no differences between monoracial and biracial Asian Americans, when controlling for gender, age, socioeconomic status, family structure, and relationship with parents.  Family cohesion served as a protective factor, while gender and acculturation served as risk factors.
 
Implications for Practice:  Findings indicate that it is essential for intervention and prevention programs to focus on family factors, such as relationship with parents.  In addition, it is crucial to recognize the impact of acculturation and how that may play a role in adolescent violence.