DELINQUENCY OF CHINESE-CANADIAN YOUTH - A TEST OF OPPORTUNITY, CONTROL, AND INTERGENERATION CONFLICT THEORIES

Research shows that youth of Chinese descent in North America have a l ower prevalence of delinquency than the average Canadian or American y outh, probably due to the positive influence of Chinese culture. In th is study, the relationship between acculturation and delinquency was e xamined based on a sample of Chinese youth and adolescents in Winnipeg , Manitoba. Related hypotheses derived front three theoretical perspec tives-opportunity, control, and intergeneration conflict theories-were tested The results showed that adherence to Chinese culture reduced t he likelihood of delinquency involvement. However the effect was not e xplained by Chinese cultural norms and traditions These findings are n ot congruent with opportunity and control theories. Nonetheless, it wa s found that acculturation caused delinquency involvement to increase for those whose parents were less acculturated suggesting the presence of a widened generation gap exacerbated by acculturation. To that ext ent, the findings lend considerable support to intergeneration conflic t theory.