AAPI Nexus: Policy, Practice and Community

Notably lacking in the literature on Vietnamese and Cambodian youth gangs in the United States and particularly southern California have been solutions that address the underlying causative factors of gang involvement. Relying on life histories collected over a span of fifteen years, the authors propose a multi-faceted prevention and intervention strategy that includes the community and schools to heighten cultural awareness for children and parents. It is also recommended that policies take into account nuanced differences between Asian communities and bring together multiple stakeholders including officials and hard-core gang members to improve communicative problems that have resulted in gang-policy failures.

General self-reported rates of violence and studies identifying risk factors for delinquency and serious violence have been limited for Asian, particularly Southeast Asian youth. Additionally, the role of psychosocial-cultural related factors such as individualism/collectivism, intergenerational/intercultural conflict, and ethnic identity in delinquency has largely been neglected. In a sample of 329 Cambodian, Chinese, Lao/Mien, and Vietnamese youth, robust risk factors for serious violence (aggravated assault, robbery, gang, rape) included peer delinquency, prior arrest, and victimization. In addition, cultural factors such as second generation status, individualism, and intergenerational/intercultural conflict also significantly increased the odds of serious violence, whereas factors that decreased the odds included collectivism and school achievement. For family/partner violence (hit a family member or boyfriend/girlfriend), the strongest risk factors were victimization and parent discipline. Demographics, individual, and peer domains contributed more explanatory variance for serious violence, while individual and parental domains contributed more explanatory variance for family/partner violence. Consistent with official statistics, rates of serious violence among Southeast Asian youth were higher than for Chinese youth.

Using the family delinquency theory as a framework, this study explores family characteristics as predictors for delinquent acts against property and persons by AAPI adolescents. The weighted survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health is a nationally representative sample of seventh to twelfth graders. Parental monitoring served as a protective factor for delinquent acts against property. Family structure was a predictive factor for delinquent acts against persons. Overall, the findings partially supported the family delinquency theory, underscoring the importance of developing culturally appropriate theories. Implications for the development of intervention and prevention programs are discussed.

Although a burgeoning literature exists examining the intersections of gender and race in adolescent research, little attention has been paid to Asian American or Pacific Island youth, and this is especially true for girls from these groups. This study surveys the issues confronting Samoan adolescents, with a particular emphasis on the problems facing girls. Utilizing focus group and interview data with Samoan community leaders, other key informants, parents, and adolescent girls (N = 42), this study highlights some of the ways Samoan girls negotiate a social terrain characterized by both racism and sexism. Participants discuss unfavorable biases in schools, unequal domestic gender roles, western legal confines, and a lack of positive role models as critical issues for Samoan girls in contemporary society.

This article provides data about youth in the California Youth Authority (CYA) and compares and contrasts Asian and Pacific Islander (API) youth with other wards with regard to youth characteristics, commitment offenses, incarceration, parole, and discharge. The data shows that although API constituted 5% of the total population in February of 2002, some API ethnicities are vastly overrepresented in the CYA population and have had high levels of gang involvement. At the same time, API wards had the highest percentage with honorable discharges and the lowest percentage with a dishonorable discharge from CYA.

Thalassemia is a potentially life-threatening genetic blood disease for which Asians in California are at highest risk, compared to other population groups. Mandatory screening at birth is how most cases are discovered. This paper focuses on chronic forms of thalassemia and what it means for patients and their families to live with the illness. The goal is to increase public awareness about thalassemia and to stimulate discussion about social interventions that might enable individuals to lead healthier lives.