Victimizing the children of immigrants: Latino and Asian American student victimization

Recent demographic changes have supported the emerging research on one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population: the children of immigrants. Because victimization adversely affects youth development, understanding the victimization of the children of immigrants are of special interest because they are part of this country's future-its parents, its labor force, and its voters. In addition, segmented assimilation theory guides this study's examination about the victimization that the children of Latino and Asian American immigrants endure in U.S. public schools. Analyses, which draw from the restricted-use Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, indeed reveal some important results. For instance, first-generation immigrant students are afraid of the schools they attend. Furthermore, Latino third-plus generation immigrant students have increased risk of victimization by violence at school. This article also discusses the importance of understanding the schooling of the children of immigrants in the U.S. educational system.