This study examined Latinx boys in the juvenile justice system and addressed acculturation theory to assess whether or not adjudicated foreign-born Latinx boys are more delinquent than others before adjudication, and whether or not these boys are a bigger burden on the juvenile justice system than others.
The study addressed data and methodological issues that plagued the current research using the Ocean Tides Database, which contains multi-year (1975–2019) cross- sectional data for 1,083 adjudicated boys. Multivariate analyses confirmed that Latinx immigrant youth who were delinquent posed no greater threats to the American public either before or after adjudication than American-born citizens or other immigrants. There was minimal support for acculturation theory in explaining behavioral differences between first and second-generation Latinx immigrants. (publisher abstract modified)