RACIAL MISTRUST AND DEVIANT BEHAVIORS AMONG ETHNICALLY DIVERSE BLACK-ADOLESCENT BOYS

While it has been suggested that mistrust of the dominant White societ y may be an important protective factor for some members of racial min orities, the question of whether mistrust may also be related to nonno rmative behaviors among minority members has not been explored. Using survey data from Miami, Florida, this study empirically tests this hyp othesis among a sample of African American, Haitian, and other Caribbe an island Black adolescent boys. Bivariate analyses suggest a strong r elationship between racial mistrust and conventional forms of delinque ncy for all three ethnic groups. These findings also held in multivari ate analyses in which six traditional predictors of deviance were stat istically controlled. The authors conclude that racial mistrust adds a new dimension to empirical prediction models. In addition, they concl ude that issues associated with racial mistrust should be considered w hen developing and implementing prevention strategies.