title: The effects of self-control, gang membership, and parental attachment/identification on police contacts among Latino and African American youths.
abstract: This study assessed the correlates of self-control and police contact in a sample of Chicago public high school students. The investigation examined the effects of parental attachment/identification, family structure, and peer association on self-control and the effects of parental attachment/identification, family structure, peer association, and self-control on police contact. Differences between African American and Latino youth on the predictors of the two dependent measures were tested in separate regression models. Weak parental attachment/identification and gang affiliation (peer association) predicted low self-control among all students. Among African American youth, only weak maternal attachment/identification predicted low self-control; both weak maternal attachment/identification and gang affiliation predicted low self-control among Latino youth. Gang affiliation predicted police stops (delinquency) among African Americans but not among Latinos. However, both African American and Latino students with lower self-control were more likely to be stopped by the police than those with higher self-control.
authors.affiliation: Florida International University, Miami, USA. flexonj@fiu.edu
authors.forename: Jamie L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Flexon
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Greenleaf
authors.forename: Arthur J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Lurigio
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D044383:Black People; D002641:Chicago; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010379:Peer Group; D016495:Police; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult; D001741:Black or African American