ETHNIC HARASSMENT AND VIOLENCE : The Role of Ethnic Harassment on Violent Behavior Among Immigrant Youths

Abstract: The present study aimed to: (1) examine whether experiencing ethnic harassment was related to violent behaviors among immigrant youths (2) identify the conditions that elevate ethnically harassed youth’s engagement in violent behaviors. Specifically, current study examined the moderating roles of youth’s ethnic identification, anger regulation, and impulsivity on the association between ethnic harassment and violent behaviors. Participants included 341 first- and second-generation immigrant youth (Mage= 14.11, SD =.93; 48 % girls) who were recruited from seven different schools in a mid-size Swedish city. Regression analyses was conducted to test whether ethnic harassment predicted violent behaviors over the course of one year after and whether youth’s ethnic identification, anger regulation and impulsive personality trait moderated the association between ethnic harassment and violent behaviors. Results showed that when immigrant youth were exposed to ethnic harassment, they were more likely to display violent behaviors one year later. In addition, the results suggested that immigrant youth who identified themselves with their heritage culture, i.e., high ethnic identification, were more at risk displaying violent behaviors in the case of ethnic harassment. Moreover, the results indicated that anger regulation and impulsive personality trait did not moderate the relationship between ethnic harassment and violence.