Does classroom composition of immigrant versus non-immigrant adolescents explain violence perpetration? A cross-cultural study

The present study sought to test whether classroom-level composition at schools of native versus immigrant adolescents explains variability in three measures of violence perpetration (lifetime violence perpetration, recent [past 12 months], and age of first violence perpetration), with a consideration of known individual-level correlates (i.e., age, sex, SES, immigrant status, low self-control, parental closeness, parental monitoring, discrimination, trauma, and neighborhood bonding) as well as school-level correlates (i.e., school climate, type of school, school location of [size of city], and school disorganization). Nationally representative data were collected as part of the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2) from 28 cultures, from seventh, eighth, and ninth-grade adolescents (N = 66,859). The current study employed multilevel or hierarchical linear modeling (MLM/HLM) to test this question of person-context interactions, to better understand the extent to which classroom immigrant composition at schools was associated with violence perpetration among adolescents. Results provided evidence that a higher proportion of immigrant students across schools was associated with lower levels of lifetime and recent (past 12 months) violence perpetration and with a delayed age of first violence perpetration; at the same time, they also showed that within schools, immigrant youth were at greater risk for violence perpetration vis-à-vis their native peers. Findings underscore the need for addressing the complex interplay between both individual- and school-level contextual factors, as well as their interactions, to better understand and address violence perpetration among youth.