Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Offending Behavior, Drug Use, and Mental Health Among Foreign-Born versus U.S. Born Latino Criminal Justice Clients

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Little is known about the offending behavior and recidivism factors of Latinos by nativity (U.S. born, foreign-born). The present study focused on Latinos in community corrections (n = 201) in Miami, Florida, and examined differences in criminal activity, drug use, and mental health by nativity. Data were collected utilizing convenience sampling between June 2014 and December 2015. The research question was: what are the offending, drug use, and mental health histories of Latinos involved in community corrections? Participants were mostly male (n = 120; 59.7%), White (n = 105; 52.2%), and Cuban (n = 97; 48.3%). U.S. born community corrections clients (n = 141) were more likely to report more lifetime and recent criminal activity; and more likely to report lifetime and recent drug use behavior than foreign-born Latinos (n = 60). No differences were found in recent mental health. Correctional healthcare should tailor services such as substance abuse treatment differently toward U.S. born and foreign-born Latinos.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Correctional Populations in the United States, 2011. 2012. http://sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/rd_ICCPR%20Race%20and%20Justice%20Shadow%20Report.pdf.

  2. The Sentencing Project. Racial Disparity. 2015. http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/page.cfm?id=122.

  3. The Sentencing Project. Report of the Sentencing Project to the United Nations Human Rights Committee Regarding Racial Disparities in the United States Criminal Justice System. 2013. http://sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/rd_ICCPR%20Race%20and%20Justice%20Shadow%20Report.pdf.

  4. Bonczar T. Prevalence of imprisonment in the U.S. population, 1974–2001. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics; 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Mauer M. Addressing racial disparities in incarceration. The Prison Journal. 2011;91:87S–101S.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. U.S. Census Bureau. Population projection summary tables: Table 11 percent distribution of the projected population by hispanic origin and race for the United States: 2015 to 2060. 2014. http://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2014/summarytables.html.

  7. Pew Research Center. U.S. immigration population projected to rise, even as shares fall among Hispanics, Asians. 2015. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/03/09/u-s-immigrant-population-projected-to-rise-even-as-share-falls-among-hispanics-asians/.

  8. Sentencing Project. Hispanic Prisoners in the United States. Washington, DC: Sentencing Project; 2003. http://static.prisonpolicy.org/scans/sp/1051.pdf.

  9. Carson, E. A. Prisoners in 2013 (NCJ 247282). Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2014. http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf.

  10. Binswanger IA, Redmond N, Steiner JF, Hicks LS. Health disparities and the criminal justice system: an agenda for further research and action. J Urban Health. 2011;89:98–107.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Bier, D. Donald Trump is wrong—immigrants don’t commit more crimes. 2016. http://time.com/4509413/presidential-debate-donald-trump-immigration/.

  12. Bersani BE. A Game of catch-up? The offending experience of second-generation immigrants. Crime Delinquency. 2014; 60:60–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Bersani BE. An examination of first and second generation immigrant offending trajectories. Justice Q. 2014;31:315–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hagan J, Palloni A. Sociological criminology and the mythology of Hispanic immigration and crime. Soc Prob. 1999;46(4):617–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Feldmeyer B, Steffensmeier, D. Immigration effects on homicide offending for total and race/ethnicity-disaggregated populations (White, Black, and Latino). Homicide Stud. 2009.

  16. Reedus LR. The increasing significance of race: the effects of race and immigration on violent and property crime for White, Black, and Latino neighborhoods. Columbus: Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University; 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Alvarez-Rivera LL, Nobles MR, Lersch KM. Latino immigrant acculturation and crime. Am J Crim Justice. 2014;39:315–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Vaughn MG, Salas-Wright CP, DeLisi M, Maynard BR. The immigrant paradox: Immigrants are less antisocial than native-born Americans. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2014;49:1129–37.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Vaughn MG, Sals-Wright CP, Maynard BR, Qian Z, Terzis L, Kusow AM, DeLisi M. Criminal epidemiology and the immigrant paradox: intergenerational discontinuity in violence and antisocial behavior among immigrants. J Crim Justice. 2014;42:483–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Martinez R, Stowell JI. Extending immigration and crime studies national implications and local settings. Ann Am Acad Political Soc Sci. 2012;641(1):174–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Emerick NA, Curry TR, Collins TW, Rodriguez SF. Homicide and social disorganization on the border: implications for Latino and immigrant population. Soc Sci Quart. 2014;95(2):360–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Stansfield R. A multilevel analysis of Hispanic youth, exposure to the United States, and retail theft. Race Soc Prob. 2012;4(2):121–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Maldonado-Molina MM, Reingle JM, Tobler AL, Wesley GJ, Komro KA. Trajectories of physical aggression among hispanic urban adolescents and young adults: an application of latent trajectory modeling from ages 12 to 18. Am J Crim Justice. 2010;35:121–33.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Piquero AR, Schubert CA, Brame R. Comparing official and self-report records of offending across gender and race/ethnicity in a longitudinal study of serious youthful offenders. J Res Crime Delinq. 2014;51:526–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Miller HV. Juvenile justice system outcomes among foreign-born and native-born Latinos in the United States: an exploratory STUDY. Youth Violence Juvenile Justice. 2015; 13:428–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Jennings WG, Zgoba KM, Piquero AR, Reingle JM. Offending trajectories among native-born and foreign-born Hispanics to late middle age. Sociol Enq. 2013;83:622–47. doi:10.1111/soin.12017.

    Google Scholar 

  27. The Sentencing Project. Incarcerated women and girls. 2016. http://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Incarcerated-Women-and-Girls.pdf.

  28. Carson EA. Prisoners in 2014. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2015. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p14.pdf.

  29. Kaeble D, Glaze L, Tsoutis A, Minton T. Correctional populations in the United States, 2014. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2015. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus14.pdf.

  30. Carson EA, Sabol WJ. Prisoners in 2011. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Garcia B. Chapter 6: Incarcerated Latinas and Alcohol and other Drug Abuse. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 2005;23, 87–106. doi:10.1300/j020v23n02_06.

  32. Harrison PM, Beck AJ. Prisoners in 2001. Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin. NCJ 195189. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice; 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Manoleas P, Garcia B. Clinical algorithms as a tool for psychotherapy with Latino clients. Am J Orthopsychiat. 2003;73(2):154.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Powell D, Perreira KM, & Harris KM. Trajectories of delinquency from adolescence to adulthood. Youth Soc, 2009;41(4):475–502.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Schuck AM, Lersch KM, Verrill SW. The “invisible” Hispanic? The representation of Hispanics in criminal justice research. J Ethn Crim Justice. 2004;2:5–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Breedvelt JJF, Dean LV, Jones G, Cole C. Predicting recidivism for criminal justice clients in UK substance dependence treatment: do mental health symptoms matter? J Crim Psychol. 2014;4:115–22.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Rivaux SL, Springer DW, Bohman T, Wagner EF, Gil AG. Differences among substance abusing Latino, Anglo, and African-American Juvenile offenders in predictors of recidivism and treatment outcome. J Soc Work Pract Addict. 2006;6:5–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Abram KM, Teplin LA, McClelland GM. Comorbidity of severe psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders among women in jail. Am J Psychiatry. 2003;160:1007–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Carballo JN, Pérez-Pedrogo C, Albizu-García CE. Assessing post-traumatic stress symptoms in a Latino prison population. Int J Prisoner Health. 2013;9:196–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Tsai J, Rosenheck RA, Kasprow WJ, Mcguire JF. Risk of incarceration and clinical characteristics of incarcerated veterans by race/ethnicity. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2013;4:1777–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Muñoz-Laboy M, Worthington N, Perry A, Guilamo-Ramos V, Cabassa L, Lee J, Severson N. Socio-environmental risks for untreated depression among formerly incarcerated Latino men. J Immigr Minor Health. 2014;16:1183–92.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Vega WA, Gil AG, Kolody B. What do we know about Latino drug use? Methodological evaluation of state databases. Hisp J Behav Sci. 2002;24:395–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Warner TD, Fishbein DH, Krebs CP. The risk of assimilating? Alcohol use among immigrant and U.S.-born Mexican youth. Soc Sci Res. 2010;39(1):176–86. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2009.07.001.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  44. Sabina C, Cuevas CA, Schally JL. The influence of ethnic group variation on victimization and help seeking among Latino women. Cult Divers Ethn Minor Psychol. 2015;21:19–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Wilkinson AV, Spitz MR, Strom SS, Prokhorov AV, Barcenas CH, Cao Y, Suanders KC, Bondy ML. Effects of nativity, age at migration, and acculturation on smoking among adult Houston residents of Mexican descent. Am J Public Health. 2005;95:1043–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  46. Wilson K, Durantini MR, Albarracin J, Crause C, Albarracin D. Reducing cultural and psychological barriers to Latino enrollment in HIV Prevention counseling: initial data on an enrollment meta-intervention. AIDS Care. 2013;7:881–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Corsino L, Rocha-Goldberg MP, Batch BC, Ortiz-Melo DI, Bosworth HB, Svetkey LP. The Latino Health Project: Pilot testing a culturally adapted behavioral weight loss intervention in obese and overweight Latino adults. Ethn Dis, 2012; 22:51–57.

  48. Dumont DM, Gjelsvik A, Chen N, Rich JD. Hispanics, incarceration, and TB/HIV screening: a missed opportunity for prevention. J Immigr Minor Health. 2013;15(4):711–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Markides KS, Coreil J. The health of Hispanics in the southwestern United States: An epidemiologic paradox. Public Health Report. 1986;101:253–65.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Barry R, Miller PW. Do enclaves matter in immigrant adjustment? City Commun, 2005; 4(1):5–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Martin SS, O’Connell DJ, Inciardi JA, Surratt HL, Maiden KM. Integrating an HIV/HCV brief intervention in prisoner reentry: results of a multisite prospective study. J Psychoact Drugs. 2008;40:427–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Dennis ML, White MK, Titus JC, Unsicker JI: Global appraisal of individual needs (GAIN): administration guide for the GAIN and related measures (Version 5). Bloomington: Chestnut Health Systems. 2006. http://www.chestnut.org/LI/gain/GAIN_I/GAIN-I_v_5-4/Index.html.

  53. Viruell-Fuentes EA: Beyond acculturation: immigration, discrimination, and health research among Mexicans in the United States. Soc Sci Med. 2007; 65:1524–1535. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.05.010.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Gostjev FA. Immigrant Residential Concentration and Ethnic Economy as Correlates of Violent Crime Rates: Can Ethnic Enclave Theory Help Solve the Immigrant Paradox? 2015.

  55. Harris CT, Feldmeyer B. Latino immigration and White, Black, and Latino violent crime: A comparison of traditional and non-traditional immigrant destinations. Soc Sci Res. 2013;42(1):202–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Haugebrook S, Zgoba KM, Maschi T, Morgen K, Brown D. Trauma, stress, health, and mental health issues among ethnically diverse older adult prisoners. J Correct Health Care. 2010;16:220–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. McGovern V. Racial bias or “blameworthiness”: Sentencing, offense seriousness, and time to recidivism of whites, blacks, hispanics and mexican immigrants (Doctoral dissertation). 2004. http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.fiu.edu/docview/305218472?accountid=10901.

  58. Powell JL, Lewis AP, Dunbar RIM, García-Fiñana M, Roberts N. Orbital prefrontal cortex volume correlates with social cognitive competence. Neuropsychologia. 2010;48:3554–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grant number R34DA031063 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. We would also like to thank our community partners and participants for their time.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Gladys E. Ibañez, Rehab Auf & Diana M. Sheehan

  2. Center for Drug and Health Studies, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA

    Michelle Agudo, Steve S. Martin & Daniel J. O’Connell

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, AHC-5, Room 478, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Gladys E. Ibañez

Authors
  1. Gladys E. Ibañez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michelle Agudo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Steve S. Martin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Daniel J. O’Connell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Rehab Auf
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Diana M. Sheehan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gladys E. Ibañez.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Dr. Ibañez, Ms. Agudo, Mr. Martin, Dr. O’Connell, Dr. Auf, Dr. Sheehan declares that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ibañez, G.E., Agudo, M., Martin, S.S. et al. Offending Behavior, Drug Use, and Mental Health Among Foreign-Born versus U.S. Born Latino Criminal Justice Clients. J Immigrant Minority Health 19, 674–685 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0542-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0542-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation