The Development of Delinquent Behaviour among Immigrant Adolescents: Youths’ and Parents` Perceptions

The children of immigrant parents account for approximately 10% of all children in Israel; 53% of these came from the former Soviet Union (FSU). Studies of this population reveal high levels of risk-taking and anti-social behavior that is manifested in high dropout rates from school, delinquency, substance abuse, etc. Immigration can pose enormous challenges to an adolescent’s psychological and social functioning. One of the adverse consequences observed in this context is the high incidence of anti-social behavior among immigrant youth. This paper presents a qualitative study that explores the development of delinquent behaviour among immigrant adolescents as perceived by the adolescents and their parents. Twenty participants were interviewed for this study: ten male immigrant young people with criminal records and ten parents. All immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union. The participants reported multiple perceived reasons for the development of delinquency, that could be organized into 4 main categories: situational factors, social factors, familial factors and personality factors. Close observation allows to see that these reasons are not independent of immigration and adaptation issues, and, as we believe, constitute mediating variables that connect between immigration and youth delinquency.