Longitudinal Mechanisms Linking Perceived Racial Discrimination to Aggressive Delinquency among North American Indigenous Youth

• Author: Kelley Sittner,Dane Hautala
• DOI: 10.1177/0022427819834331
• Published date: 01 August 2019
• Date: 01 August 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Longitudinal

Mechanisms Linking

Perceived Racial

Discrimination to

Aggressive Delinquency

among North American

Indigenous Youth

Dane Hautala

1

and Kelley Sittner

2

Abstract

Objectives: Drawing from an integrated general strain theory framework, the

purpose of the study is to examine the longitudinal mediating and moder-

ating mechanisms linking p erceived racial discrimi nation with aggressive

delinquency among North American Indigenous (i.e., American Indian and

Canadian First Nations) youth. Method: Data come from an eight-year long-

itudinal study of Indigenous youth residing on reservations/reserves in the

upper Midwest and Canada (N¼659). Scales were created for discrimina-

tion, depressive symptoms, school bonds, and delinquent peer associations

at years 2 and 3, and a count measure of aggression was created at years 2,

1

Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, University of Minnesota Medical

School, Duluth, MN, USA

2

Department of Sociology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA

Corresponding Author:

Dane Hautala, Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, University of

Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus, 1035 University Drive, 231 SMed, Duluth,

MN 55812, USA.

Email: haut0034@d.umn.edu

Journal of Research in Crime and

Delinquency

2019, Vol. 56(5) 694-735

ªThe Author(s) 2019

Article reuse guidelines:

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DOI: 10.1177/0022427819834331

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3, and 5. Cross-lagged path analysis models were estimated to examine

possible mediating effects of depressive symptoms, school bonds, and delin-

quent peer associations. Separate regression models were examined to test

for possible moderating effects of the aforementioned variables. Results: The

results of a longitudinal path analysis mode l showed that discrimination

indirectly increased aggression through decreased school bonds and

increased delinquent peer associations. Depressive symptoms was the only

significant moderator, and contrary to expectations, the effect of discrim-

ination on aggression declined in magnitudeasdepressivesymptoms

increased. Conclusions: Discrimination is a key criminogenic stressor among

Indigenous youth and is linked with multiple adverse outcomes through the

adolescent years.

Keywords

discrimination, American Indian, First Nations, race, general strain theory

Indigenous people experience disparate rates of violence and victimization

compared to other racial and ethnic groups (McNulty and Bellair 2003) and

are overrepresented at every stage of the criminal justice system, with

approximately one third of Indigenous males expected to experience incar-

ceration at least once in their lifetime (Duran and Duran 1995). Despite this,

little attention has been paid to understanding the social context of North

American Indigenous (i.e., American Indian and Canadian First Nations)

delinquency and the general and unique criminogenic mechanisms that

produce it. The exclusion of Indigenous people in mainstream criminolo-

gical research is reflective of broader cultural and structural inequalities

perpetuated by the enduring legacy of colonialism, which keeps many of the

social problems salient in Indigenous communities out of the purview of the

discipline of criminology and society at large (Martin 2014). Undoing this

colonial legacy requires scholars to focus on issues relevant to Indigenous

communities, adapting mainstream theories to account for unique contexts

and prioritizing research methods that emphasize community involvement

and cultural specificity.

Variations in offending by race/ethnicity are a function of differences in

experiences within the social environment that are associated with offend-

ing (Agnew 2016). Pridemore (2004) argued there are characteristics that

make Indigenous “individuals and communities especially likely to expe-

rience specific types of risk, and that these cultures and communities also

Hautala and Sittner 695

possess unique features that will aid in providing protective factors against

these risks” (p. 54). Furthermore, the geographic, cultural, historical, and

social contexts of many Indigenous reservation/reserve communities create

a unique developmental milieu for Indigenous youth that is not shared by

any other group (Whitbeck, Sittner Hartshorn, and Walls 2014) and is

continually shaped by historical cultural losses and traumas (Evans-

Campbell 2008). For Indigenous people, many disparities in physical and

behavioral health stem from these social determinants rather than individual

or collective pathology (Evans-Campbell 2008).

Disparate rates in violence and victimization among Indigenous people

can be viewed as an ongoing response to oppression, which is perpetuated

by multilayered discrimination (Poupart 2002). Racial discrimination has

been shown to be a culturally salient risk factor for a wide range of crim-

inogenic outcomes for Indigenous youth (Hautala et al. 2016; Mmari, Blum,

and Teufel-Shone 2010; Whitbeck et al. 2014); however, few studies exam-

ine and contextualize the mechanisms through which discrimination leads

to delinquency among this population. Racial discrimination and its perni-

cious effects have been used to explain the link between race and crime

(Burt, Simons, and Gibbons 2012; Kaufman et al. 2008; Unnever and Gab-

bidon 2011), and mounting evidence shows that they may be key drivers of

racial and ethnic disparities in offending (Bogart et al. 2013) for African

Americans and Latinos. Examining mechanisms that link perceived racial

discrimination to delinquency has important theoretical and pragmatic

implications. Theoretically, understanding the conditions (i.e., mediating

and moderating) under which various strains such as discrimin ation are

associated with delinquency may elucidate ways in which macro-level

racial stratification and sociohistorical experiences (e.g., historical trauma)

shape racialized interpersonal processes (Burt et al. 2012) that impact Indi-

genous youth. Pragmatically, this examination may offer insights to ame-

liorate the negative consequences of discrimination on Indigenous

adolescent development and the communities in which they occur.

Although many theories appear to be applicable to Indigenous youth and

various theoretical components (e.g., risk and protective factors) operate

similarly (Pridemore 2004), the social backdrop that gives rise to these pro-

cesses are likely unique, rendering them similar in function, but different in

context (Hautala et al. 2016; Whitbeck et al. 2014). Agnew’s (1992, 2001,

2006) general strain theory (GST) and complementary frameworks (e.g.,

Unnever and Gabbidon 2011) provide a theoretical lens through which gen-

eral and contextual factors salient to Indigenous offending can be examined

and is adaptable to explain variation s in offending b y race/ethnicity (e. g.,

696 Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 56(5)