Life Domains and Dating Violence Among Latino Youth: A Partial Test of Agnew’s Integrated General Theory

Abstract

In 2005, Agnew presented a new theoretical framework for understanding crime and delinquency. To date, this theory has not been thoroughly tested among various populations and types of crime. To address this gap in the research, the present study analyzes data gathered from the Dating Violence Among Latino Adolescents Study, providing a partial test of Agnew’s integrated general theory to determine its applicability to dating violence perpetration among Latino youth. Results from 669 Latino respondents showed that the theory’s constructs are modestly associated with perpetrating dating violence among this study population. Concepts depicting self (anger) and peer (peer bullying) domains are associated with the dependent variable, while school (school performance) and family (family support) domains were found to be nonsignificant. Among control and demographic variables, age, sex, depression, anxiety, and past dating victimization were also significant, while enculturation was nonsignificant. Overall, results are indicative of partial support for the theory. Prevention and intervention strategies based on the study’s findings targeted at reducing dating violence perpetration, such as recognizing signs of anger and reducing peer bullying victimization, are discussed.

Expanding and Testing a Latinx Differential Coercion and Social Support Theory of Crime

“…Although there is no agreed upon value that indicates unacceptable levels of skewness, scores with a value exceeding +/− 3.0 indicate a distribution that departs from normality to a degree that is sufficient to impact analyses (see Kline, 2016). To address this problem with distribution, which is not uncommon in studies using the Conflict Tactics Scale (e.g., Zavala & Muniz, 2020), subsequent analyses transform the measure of family violence into a dummy variable where zero (0) indicates no incidences of family violence and one (1) indicates that at least once incidence of family violence occurred. 3…”

“…The literature on the relationship between acculturation and crime is well documented. While some exceptions exist (e.g., Zavala & Muniz, 2020), most studies find that immigrants, as well as members of the second and third generations, with higher levels of acculturation to U.S. culture, are more likely to engage in criminal behavior (e.g., Morenoff & Astor, 2006). There are two general explanations for these findings.…”

“…Furthermore, social support prevents criminal behavior and is defined by Colvin et al (2002; p. 20) as “the delivery (or perceived delivery) of assistance from communities, social networks, and confiding partners in meeting the instrumental and expressive needs of individuals.” Given the strong cultural aspect of familismo— the concept that describes a strong sense of dedication and service to family — Latinx may have stronger family support which they can turn to in times of conflict, thus reducing the odds of engaging in criminal behavior, including acts of interpersonal violence against intimate partners (Zavala & Muniz, 2020). Other forms of social support may come from being in an extended or multigenerational family (Chavez-Korell et al, 2014); the presence of familismo (German et al, 2009); being enculturated to Mexico (Zavala et al, 2020); and being surrounded by high levels of neighborhood cohesion, collective efficacy, and social capital (Ramey, 2013; Browning et al, 2016).…”

“…Descriptive Statistics (n = 863).using the Conflict Tactics Scale (e.g.,Zavala & Muniz, 2020), subsequent analyses transform the measure of family violence into a dummy variable where zero (0) indicates no incidences of family violence and one (1) indicates that at least once incidence of family violence occurred.3 …”

Explaining Latinx Youth Delinquency: A Gendered Test of Latinx General Strain Theory

“… 4. Although the BSI uses the term hostility, this study uses the term anger to be consistent with previous studies that have used these data (e.g., Cudmore et al, 2017; Zavala & Muniz, 2020). …”