Immigration, schools, and violence: Assimilation and student misbehavior

Although the "myth" about the immigration and crime link is one of immigrant propensity for criminality in theUnited States, contradictory evidence suggests that immigrants, including youth, are less likely to be deviant. Little is known, however, about the multilevel relationships between immigration, schools, and student misbehavior. Analyses, which draw from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 and Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis, indeed reveal imperative findings. Most notably, firstgeneration immigrant students are less likely to misbehave while at school; however, increased exposure to school social disorder is associated with student misbehavior for first-generation immigrants. This article also discusses the importance of understanding the role of immigration in the multilevel relationship of studentmisbehavior for one of the fastest growing segments of American society: The children of immigrants.