Asian/Pacific Islander youth violence prevention center: interpersonal violence and deviant behaviors among youth in Hawai'i.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigates the prevalence rates of violent and deviant behaviors among a sample of Filipino, Hawaiian, Japanese, and Samoan public high school students residing in Hawai'i, and is the first relatively large-scale study of its kind regarding a disaggregated sample of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth. Filipino, Hawaiian, and Samoan adolescents were the chosen ethnic groups for this study's focus due to their over-representation in Hawai'i's juvenile justice system.


METHODS
Data for this study were gathered collaboratively by researchers, community groups, and school officials who agreed that youth violence was a community concern worthy of deeper understanding and community response. The study's process included three phases: a focus group consultation phase, field-testing, and the final risk and protective factor study. For the final study, 326 randomly selected students representing three Hawai'i public high schools were surveyed on a one-on-one basis.A smaller sample of Japanese students was also included in the study, serving as a control group.


RESULTS
Findings illustrate the importance of disaggregating specific ethnic and gender groups within the AAPI ethnic category when examining adolescent issues. As examples, Samoan youth reported significantly higher rates of violence than other ethnic groups surveyed, and Hawaiian girls reported higher rates of substance use than Hawaiian boys, which was not commensurate with other ethnic groups. Filipino, Hawaiian, and Samoan youth all reported significantly higher rates than Japanese on overall deviant behavior.


CONCLUSIONS
Implications for further research and community development include enhancing minority youths' bicultural self-efficacy.
Mayeda
David T
DT
Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96814, USA. mayedad@dop.hawaii.edu
Hishinuma
Earl S
ES
Nishimura
Stephanie T
ST
Garcia-Santiago
Orlando
O
Mark
Gregory Y
GY
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001213:Asian / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D044468:Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D014754:Violence / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data