Explaining the Cultural Retention–Delinquency Relationship Using Differential Support and Coercion Theory: A Study of Native‐Born and Immigrant Latino Youth

Objective Although immigrants tend to have lower involvement in delinquency, increasing levels of acculturation to American society may lead to higher levels of delinquency. Conversely, cultural retention typically reduces such behavior. To explain these findings, this study employs differential coercion and support theory to predict that cultural retention is inversely associated with delinquency through associations with greater social support and less coercion. Method Using a large, national‐level sample of Latino native‐born and immigrant youth, analyses are conducted using both ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression. Results Findings support hypotheses, showing that increases in cultural retention are associated with less coercion and more social support, both of which are, in turn, related to delinquency. Importantly, an initial strong inverse relationship between cultural retention and delinquency disappears when coercion and social support are controlled. Conclusion Higher social support and lower coercion help explain the inverse relationship between cultural retention and delinquency among native‐born and immigrant Latino youth.