Aggression, parents and Hispanic youth: An integrated theoretical approach

Researchers across disciplines recognize the impact parents may have on their children's health and behaviors. Multiple theoretical perspectives have explored the nature and mechanisms of this influence. To this purpose, learning and bonding theories have been widely cited.

Hispanic children's social development and growth is also influenced by distinct cultural characteristics. For example, “familismo” may potentially expand the number of significant family-adults that Hispanic children are bonded with or consider as models to follow. The nature of such relationships must be explored – including the ethnicity-related factors that may impact parents' relationship with the child.

Studies conducted to assess the effects of different theoretical factors on deviant behaviors have found variations in their impact by race/ethnicity, while others have recommended such a research approach.

To help explain parental influence on Hispanic juvenile aggression, a theoretical integration model of Akers' Social Learning Theory and Hirschi's Social Bonding Theory is proposed. The integrated model will especially consider the potential impact of Hispanic's distinct ethnic and cultural characteristics amidst the parental-influence, juvenile-aggression relationship.

Beyond theorizing, the author aims to integrate and explore existing linkages between these theories' distinctive factors, to address Hispanic youth violence as a specific public health problem. By recognizing areas where these theories overlap, reducing its factors and synthesizing its general assumptions, an integrated, temporally oriented and population-specific model is proposed. Operating hypotheses and its corresponding theoretically integrated factors will be presented.