Latent class analysis of risk and resiliency characteristics among Latino and Non-Latino male youth at risk for juvenile detention or incarceration

Background: Delinquency among youth has been associated with high-risk behavior resulting in adverse outcomes such as failure to complete education, juvenile detention and incarceration, as well as increased rates of STDs and HIV. However, little is known about how the typology of ecologic risk and especially resiliency differs among at-risk youth. Methods: Data are from the baseline assessment of a longitudinal study evaluating the effectiveness of HIV prevention strategies for delinquent youth aged 14-20 years old. The current latent class analysis includes 542 largely Latino (N= 396) and African-American (N=112) male youth. Results: Two classes of risk (high and low) emerged with significant differences by ethnicity. For Latinos, the high-risk group (41.3%) was characterized by parental drug use, low self-esteem, depression, and low social attachment (peer, mother, father); while the low-risk class (31.8%) was characterized by high attachment. For non-Latinos the high risk class (15.3%) was characterized by parental drug use and psychological problems, low self-esteem and low attachment and the low-risk group (11.7%) was characterized by church membership, parents with greater than a high school education and high attachment. Conclusions: Results show similarities and differences between ecologic risks and resiliency among youth. High social attachment may be salient in terms of resilience for Latino youth, while attachment, parental education and church membership appear to be salient for non-Latino youth who were largely African-American in this study. Implications are for the identification of risk factors, and development of interventions that address risk and foster resilience among at risk youth.