Understanding the Link Between Discrimination and Juvenile Delinquency Among Chinese Migrant Children

• Published date: 01 May 2018
• Date: 01 May 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/1043986218761959
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986218761959

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2018, Vol. 34(2) 128 –147

© The Author(s) 2018

Reprints and permissions:

sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

DOI: 10.1177/1043986218761959

journals.sagepub.com/home/ccj

Article

Understanding the Link

Between Discrimination and

Juvenile Delinquency Among

Chinese Migrant Children

Spencer D. Li1 and Yiwei Xia1

Abstract

Prior research has identified discrimination as a cause of delinquency among migrant

children. Few studies, however, have examined how discrimination is related to

delinquency. The current research aims at bringing more understanding to this issue.

Based on the general strain theory, this study posits that discrimination facilitates

delinquent behavior because it reduces social support, generates negative emotions,

and erodes social bonds. To test these hypotheses, this study collected survey

data from a probability sample of 1,300 migrant children who attended secondary

schools in one of the largest cities in China. Structural equation modeling analysis was

conducted to test the direct and indirect effects of discrimination on delinquency.

The results show that perceived discrimination reported by the students was

positively related to delinquency through all three mediating mechanisms. This study

suggests that strengthening social support may provide an effective strategy to reduce

delinquency among migrant children in a short and intermediate term while ending

discrimination represents a more long-term solution.

Keywords

Chinese migrant children, migration, discrimination, delinquency, general strain

theory

Research on crime committed by migrant population can be traced back to the last

century (Hart, 1896). Existing literature mostly indicates that migrant population have

a higher rate of criminal involvement than nonmigrant population. This pattern has

1University of Macau, Taipa, Macau, China

Corresponding Author:

Spencer D. Li, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau,

China.

Email: spencerli@umac.mo

761959CCJXXX10.1177/1043986218761959Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeLi and Xia

research-article2018

Li and Xia 129

been found in the United States (Mears, 2002), Europe (Simon & Sikich, 2007),

Western Asia (Walsh, Fogel-Grinvald, & Shneider, 2015), and other regions and areas

(Larsen, 2010; Schloenhardt, 2001). Unlike children of immigrants who sometimes

demonstrated better developmental outcomes than children with native-born parents

in receiving countries, children of internal migrants who leave home to work in another

part of their country, typically urban areas with more employment opportunities, are at

higher risk for delinquent involvement and related problems than their peers who grew

up in the local communities (Cheung, 2013; Tong & Piotrowski, 2012). Two major

structural forces have been identified as explanations of the underlying mechanisms:

First, migrants face more challenges in life than nonmigrants. In addition to the com-

mon adversities shared by both groups, migrants are more likely to experience dis-

crimination and suffer from blocked opportunities and related stresses (Hällsten,

Szulkin, & Sarnecki, 2013). Second, migrants are more likely to live in socially and

ethnically segregated and disorganized communities, which provide “greater exposure

to risk factors than protective factors” (Peterson & Krivo, 2005, p. 345).

Compared with their parents, the second generation of migrants is generally con-

fronted with more social and emotional stressors (Birman & Poff, 2011). Discriminations

on the basis of language, ethnicity, and family background are major disadvantages

facing the younger generation (Deng, Kim, Vaughan, & Li, 2009; Walsh et al., 2015).

Moreover, migrant children experience stronger emotional stress, mainly because they

do not receive the help they need, especially from their parents (Wong, Chang, & He,

2009; Yu, Stewart, Liu, & Lam, 2014). Recent studies also reveal other negative con-

sequences of discrimination such as weakened social bond (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001).

All these disadvantages might directly or indirectly lead to a variety of delinquent

behaviors, including violence (Caldwell, Kohn-Wood, Schmeelk-Cone, Chavous, &

Zimmerman, 2004), substance abuse (Gibbons, Gerrard, Cleveland, Wills, & Brody,

2004), and status offenses (Ewert, 2009).

With more than 20 million of school-aged children migrating from rural to urban

areas (Wong et al., 2009), China has experienced huge social and economic impact

caused by migrant children. Studies have found that migrant children are dispropor-

tionately represented in the criminal justice system such as the juvenile correctional

facilities. Ying and Dun (2007), for example, found that more than 50% of the juvenile

offenders in several major cities in China are children of migrants from other prov-

inces. Similar statistics are found in other studies (Chen & Zhong, 2012; C. Liu, 2013).

Researchers have presented divergent views on the reliability of the statistics. Most of

them hold that the statistics reflect the fact that migrant workers and their children

have higher risk for crime and delinquency, perpetuated by social exclusion and other

disadvantages experienced in their lives (Z. Wang, 2002; Zhong, Xu, & Piquero,

2017). Others maintain that the numbers, especially those from the official sources, are

artificially inflated because of widespread policies and practices specifically targeting

rural-to-urban migrants, resulting in higher likelihood of arrest and incarceration

among the migrant population (Trevaskes, 2010; J. Xu, 2013).

Although some studies have found links among discrimination, negative emotions,

lack of social bond, and delinquent behavior among migrant children, the mechanisms