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A Multilevel Analysis of Hispanic Youth, Exposure to the United States, and Retail Theft

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Abstract

Panel data in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97) provide an excellent opportunity to examine the relationship between Hispanic immigration, assimilation, and retail theft. This study examines the relationship between length of time Hispanic youth have spent in America, with the probability of stealing from a store. After controlling for traditional predictors of crime that are correlated with adolescence and immigrant status, random effects logistic regression models indicate that immigrants are less likely to steal than non-immigrants. However, calculating the marginal effects of time spent in the United States reveals that their probability increases with assimilation. Supplementary analyses specify that Hispanic youth who enter the United States within their first 5 years of age will have higher odds of engaging in retail theft. Supportive parenting and a structured home environment is a consistent protective factor in the models. Policies targeting pro-family and social identification are likely to benefit immigrant youth as they acculturate to America.

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Notes

  1. As conceptualized, length of time in the United States also has a second conceptual meaning for non-immigrants in the sample, namely it is a reflection of age as well as a measure of years of exposure to the United States. To ensure this is not a problematic confound, analyses regarding length of time in United States were run for the sample of immigrants only, assuming length of time in the United States should be missing for non-immigrants. The given age of respondents was included in these models to account for the maturation effect in the sample. The results showed the same positive association between length of time in the Unites States and both levels of retail theft. These results are not reported given the reduction in sample size and the inability to make a direct comparison between immigrants and non-immigrants. The control analyses are available from the author upon request.

  2. Other multilevel techniques such as event history analysis were considered; however, given that this study is interested in the probability of stealing more so than the time at which the event may occur, time series analysis was preferential.

  3. To confirm the use of random effects, the Breusch and Pagan Lagrangian multiplier test for random effects was conducted and was significant, indicating random effects are necessary.

  4. In estimating the random intercept logistic regression model, adaptive quadrature was used, using 15 quadrature points for every random effect parameter estimated, for more precise estimates of the parameters where the likelihood is maximized (Rabes-Hesketh and Skrondal 2008).

  5. Time dynamic models were run including the functional form of time; however, there was a strong relationship observed in the data between period of time and age. The time period was dropped as a variable, given that the primary interest is in the effects of age/length in the United States.

  6. Models were run with a curvilinear term of Length in the United States but were not significant and subsequently dropped from the final analyses. This suggests linearity in the effect of length of time in the United States of recent immigrant Hispanic youth.

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Acknowledgments

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Las Vegas, NV. I wish to thank Karen F. Parker, Eric Tranby, and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and feedback on an earlier version of this paper.

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Stansfield, R. A Multilevel Analysis of Hispanic Youth, Exposure to the United States, and Retail Theft. Race Soc Probl 4, 121–132 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-012-9072-8

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