Self-Control and Immigrant Adolescent Victimization

There is a growing body of research that reveal immigrant adolescents have fewer experiences with violence than their native-born peers in the United States. Furthermore, self-control is associated with adolescent victimization and there is documented sex differences associated with the relationship between the two. Few studies explore how self-control could explain the relationship between immigrant status and victimization. This study will explore whether self-control moderates the likelihood of female and male immigrant adolescent victimization. Drawing on data from the Gang Resistance Education and Training Program, results show that immigrant adolescents are not more likely to experience victimization, self-control predicted the odds of victimization for females only, and the link between immigration status and victimization is not conditioned by self-control. The implications of the relationship between self-control, immigrant status, sex, and adolescent victimization are discussed more generally.