Study of Latinos in US
Study of Latinos in US
Study of Latinos in US
Between
Two Worlds
How Young Latinos Come of Age in America
MILLENNIALS
A PORTRAIT OF GENERATION NEXT
December 2009
PewResearchCenter
Between
Two Worlds
How Young Latinos Come of Age in America
This publication is part of a Pew Research Center report series that looks at the
values, attitudes and experiences of America’s next generation: the Millennials.
Find out how today’s teens and twentysomethings are reshaping the nation at:
www.pewresearch.org/millennials.
The Pew Hispanic Center is a nonpartisan research organization that seeks to improve public understanding of the diverse
Hispanic population in the United States and to chronicle Latinos’ growing impact on the nation. It does not take positions
on policy issues. The Center is part of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based in Washington, D.C.,
and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, a Philadelphia-based public charity. All of the Center’s reports are available at
www.pewhispanic.org. The staff of the Center is:
Copyright 2009
Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America i
Lopez took the lead in developing the survey questionnaire, assisted by the
colleagues listed above and also by Ana González-Barrera, Jennifer Medina,
Cristina Mercado and Kim Parker. The authors also thank González-Barrera for
helping to compile demographic statistics and Mercado for helping to coordinate
the focus groups and transcribe focus group recordings. Daniel Dockterman and
Gabriel Velasco provided outstanding support for the production of the report.
Interviews were conducted for the Pew Hispanic Center by Social Science
Research Solutions (SSRS).
A Note on Terminology
The terms “Latino” and “Hispanic” are used interchangeably in this report.
The term “youths” refers to 16- to 25-year olds unless otherwise indicated. In this
report, the terms “Latino youths,” “young Latinos” and “young adults” are used
interchangeably.
All references to whites, blacks, Asians and others are to the non-Hispanic
components of those populations.
“Foreign born” refers to persons born outside of the United States to parents
neither of whom was a U.S. citizen. Foreign born also refers to those born in
Puerto Rico. Although individuals born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens by birth,
they are included among the foreign born because they are born into a Spanish-
dominant culture and because on many points their attitudes, views and beliefs are
much closer to Hispanics born abroad than to Latinos born in the 50 states or the
District of Columbia, even those who identify themselves as being of Puerto
Rican origin.
“Native born” or “U.S. born” refers to persons born in the United States and those
born abroad to parents at least one of whom was a U.S. citizen.
Unless otherwise noted, this report uses the following definitions of the first,
second, and third and higher generations:
First generation: Same as foreign born above. The terms “foreign born,” “first
generation” and “immigrant” are used interchangeably in this report.
Second generation: Born in the United States, with at least one first-generation
parent.
Third and higher generation: Born in the United States, with both parents born in
the United States. This report uses the term “third generation” as shorthand for
“third and higher generation.”
Recommended Citation
Pew Hispanic Center. “Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age
in America,” Washington, D.C. (December 11, 2009).
focus groups. Focus groups were held in Los Angeles; San Jose, Calif.; Chicago;
Orange, N.J.; Silver Spring, Md.; Langley Park, Md.; and the District of
Columbia. Diego Uriburu of Identity Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md., helped to
organize the Silver Spring and Langley Park focus groups, and the Congressional
Hispanic Caucus helped to organize the one in Washington, D.C. All groups were
composed of Latinos between the ages of 16 and 25. Focus group participants
were told that what they said might be quoted in the report, but we promised not
to identify them by name. The quotations interspersed throughout the report are
drawn from these groups.
Contents
1. Overview and Executive Summary .......................................................................... 1
2. Demography............................................................................................................ 13
3. Identity .................................................................................................................... 21
4. Language Use.......................................................................................................... 31
5. Economic Well-Being............................................................................................. 37
References................................................................................................................... 93
The data paint a mixed picture. Young Latinos are satisfied with their lives,
optimistic about their futures and place a high value on education, hard work and
career success. Yet they are much more likely than other American youths to drop
out of school and to become teenage parents. They are more likely than white and
Asian youths to live in poverty. And they have high levels of exposure to gangs.
These are attitudes and behaviors that, through history, have often been associated
with the immigrant experience. But most Latino youths are not immigrants. Two-
thirds were born in the United States, many of them descendants of the big,
ongoing wave of Latin American immigrants who began coming to this country
around 1965.
The picture becomes even more murky when comparisons are made among
youths who are first generation (immigrants themselves), second generation
(U.S.-born children of immigrants) and third
and higher generation (U.S.-born
grandchildren or more far-removed
descendants of immigrants). 1
1
In this report when we refer to the third and higher generations of Latinos, we are describing a group with diverse family
histories vis-à-vis the United States. We estimate that 40% of this group are grandchildren of immigrants. The rest are
more far removed from the immigrants in their families. And a small share comes from families that never immigrated at
all—their ancestors were living in what was then Mexico when their land became a part of the United States in the 19th
century as a result of war, treaty, annexation and/or purchase.
However, the population of the United States was much smaller during those
earlier waves. When measured against the size of the U.S. population during the
period when the immigration occurred, the modern wave’s average annual rate of
4.6 new immigrants per 1,000 population falls well below the 7.7 annual rate that
prevailed in the mid- to late 19th century and the 8.8 rate at the beginning of the
20th century.
All immigration waves produce backlashes of one kind or another, and the latest
one is no exception. Illegal immigration, in particular, has become a highly-
charged political issue in recent times. It is also a relatively new phenomenon;
past immigration waves did not generate large numbers of illegal immigrants
because the U.S. imposed fewer restrictions on immigration flow in the past than
it does now.
The current wave may differ from earlier waves in other ways as well. More than
a few immigration scholars have voiced skepticism that the children and
grandchildren of today’s Hispanic immigrants will enjoy the same upward
mobility experienced by the offspring of European immigrants in previous
centuries. 3
2
These estimates do not include U.S. residents born in Puerto Rico. However, in the rest of the report, people born in Puerto
Rico are included among the foreign born because they are from a Spanish-dominant culture and because on many points
their attitudes, views and beliefs are much closer to Hispanics born abroad than to Latinos born in the 50 U.S. states and
the District of Columbia.
3
See, for example, Gans (1992) and Portes, Fernandez-Kelly and Haller (2008).
and non-Latinos; between young Latinos and older Latinos; between foreign-born
Latinos and native-born Latinos; and between first, second, and third and higher
generations of Latinos.
Readers should be especially careful when interpreting findings about the third
and higher generation, for this is a very diverse group. We estimate that about
40% are the grandchildren of Latin American immigrants, while the remainder
can trace their roots in this country much farther back in time.
For some in this mixed group, endemic poverty and its attendant social ills have
been a part of their families, barrios and colonias for generations, even centuries.
Meantime, others in the third and higher generation have been upwardly mobile in
ways consistent with the generational trajectories of European immigrant groups.
Because the data we use in this report do not allow us to separate out the different
demographic sub-groups within the third and higher generation, the overall
numbers we present are averages that often mask large variances within this
group.
Demography
• Two-thirds of Hispanics ages 16 to 25 are native-born Americans. That
figure may surprise those who think of Latinos mainly as immigrants. But
the four-decade-old Hispanic immigration wave is now mature enough to
have spawned a big second generation of U.S.-born children who are on
the cusp of adulthood. Back in 1995, nearly half of all Latinos ages 16 to
25 were immigrants. This year marks the first time that a plurality (37%)
of Latinos in this age group are the U.S.-born children of immigrants. An
additional 29% are of third-and-higher generations. Just 34% are
immigrants themselves.
• Hispanics are not only the largest minority population in the United States,
they are also the youngest. Their median age is 27, compared with 31 for
blacks, 36 for Asians and 41 for whites. One-quarter of all newborns in the
United States are Hispanic.
• Most young Hispanics do not see themselves fitting into the race
framework of the U.S. Census Bureau. More than three-in-four (76%) say
their race is “some other race” or volunteer that their race is “Hispanic or
Latino.” Young Hispanics also do not see their race in the same way as
Hispanics ages 26 and older. Only 16% of Hispanic youths identify
themselves as white, while nearly twice as many (30%) older Hispanics
identify their race as white.
Language
• About one-third (36%) of Latinos ages 16 to 25 are English dominant in
their language patterns, while 41% are bilingual and 23% are Spanish
dominant.
when speaking with family members and friends, they often or sometimes
use a hybrid known as “Spanglish” that mixes words from both languages.
Teenage Parenthood
• Young Hispanic females have the highest rates of teen parenthood of any
major racial or ethnic group in the country. According to the Center’s
analysis of Census data, about one-in-four young Hispanic females (26%)
becomes a mother by age 19. This compares with a rate of 22% among
young black females, 11% among young white females, and 6% among
young Asian females.
• A heavy majority of older Latinos (81%) and Latino youths (75%) say that
more teenage girls having babies is a bad thing for society. Even higher
shares of the full U.S. population say the same thing—94% of all adults
and 90% of all 18- to 25-year-olds.
• About seven-in-ten (69%) Latino youths say that becoming a teen parent
prevents a person from reaching one’s goals in life; 28% disagree.
• Even more so than other youths, young Latinos have high aspirations for
career success. Some 89% say it is very important in their lives, compared
with 80% of the full population of 18- to 25-year-olds who say the same.
• Other life priorities rank a bit lower among Latino youths. About half say
that having children (55%), living a religious life (51%) and being married
(48%) are very important to their lives; about a quarter (24%) say the
same about being wealthy. All of these ratings are very similar to those
made by non-Latino youths.
• Nearly four-in-ten (38%) young Latinos say they, a relative or close friend
has been the target of ethnic or racial discrimination. This is higher than
the share of older Latinos who say the same (31%). Also, perceptions of
discrimination are more widespread among native-born (41%) than
foreign-born (32%) young Latinos.
• The high school dropout rate for the second generation of Latino youth
(9%) is higher than the rate for whites (6%) and Asians (4%) but
comparable to the rate for blacks (9%).
• Nearly all Latino youths (89%) and older adults (88%) agree with the
statement that a college degree is important for getting ahead in life.
However, just under half of Latinos ages 18 to 25 say they plan to get a
college degree.
• The reason most often given by Latino youths who cut off their education
before college is financial pressure to support a family. Nearly three-
quarters of this group say this is a big reason for not continuing in school.
About half cite poor English skills; about four-in-ten cite a dislike of
school or a belief that they do not need more education for the careers they
plan to pursue.
• The high school completion rate (89%) and the college enrollment rate
(46%) for second generation Latino youths are similar to those of whites
in this cohort, 94% of whom have completed high school and 46% of
whom are enrolled in college. However, second generation Latinos who
attend college are only about half as likely as white college students to
complete a bachelor’s degree (Fry, 2002).
Economic Well-Being
• The household income of young Latinos lags well behind that of young
whites and is slightly ahead of young blacks. Poverty rates follow the
same pattern: Some 23% of young Latinos live in poverty, compared with
13% of young whites and 28% of young blacks.
• The poverty rate among young Latinos declines significantly from the first
generation (29%) to the second (19%). The rate for the third and higher
generations is 21%.
• Foreign-born Latino youths are much more likely than their native-born
counterparts to be employed in lower-skill occupations. More than half
(52%) of all employed foreign-born youths are in food preparation and
serving; construction and extraction; building, grounds cleaning and
maintenance; and production occupations, compared with 27% of native-
born Latino youths. The native born are more dispersed across
occupations, including in relativity high-skill occupations.
• The same pattern applies to other risk behaviors explored in the survey.
Some 17% of native-born Latino youths say they got into a fight in the
past year, compared with just 7% of foreign-born youths. Some 7% of the
native born say they carried a weapon in the past year, nearly double the
3% share of foreign born who say the same. And 26% of the native born
say they were questioned by police for any reason in the past year,
compared with 15% of the foreign born.
2. Demography
Hispanics are not only the largest minority population in the United States, they
are also the youngest. Consequently, they account for especially large shares of
the young adult and child populations in the U.S. While growth in the Latino
population in the recent past has been driven by the flow of immigrants (the first
generation), the children of those immigrants now account for the plurality of the
Latino youth population. This trend is projected to intensify in the coming years
as the first-generation share continues to shrink and the second and higher
generations of Latino youths come to the forefront.
The second generation of Latinos is still very young. Within the 16- to 25- age
cohort that is the focus of this report, the majority of second-generation Latino
youths are ages 16 to 19. They are much younger than the first generation, the
majority of whom in this cohort are ages 22 and older. The Pew Hispanic Center
also estimates that the majority of foreign-born youths lack legal status. The
relative ages of the two generations and the high share of unauthorized
immigrants in the first generation have a bearing on their relative educational and
economic status.
Persons who self-identify as being of Mexican origin account for about two-thirds
of the Latino youth population in all generations. In terms of family heritage, the
most notable difference across the generations is that relatively more youths in the
first generation trace their origin to Central and South American countries and
relatively fewer are of Puerto Rican or other Spanish origins.
Hispanics, by a wide margin, are the youngest of the major racial and ethnic
groups. Their median age (27) makes them younger than blacks (31), Asians and
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (36) and whites (41).
4
This estimate, from the March 2009 Current Population Survey, is for the civilian, noninstitutional population.
Overall, youths ages 16 to 25 account for 13.9% of the U.S. population. The share
of youths is higher among Latinos (15.9%) and blacks (16.3%). Hispanics and
blacks also have more young children “in waiting.” Almost one-third (31.2%) of
the Hispanic population and 25.5% of the black population is younger than 16,
compared with 21.8% of the U.S. population. And when it comes to newborns,
fully 25% in 2007 were born to Hispanic mothers (Hamilton, Martin, and
Ventura, 2009).
There is another key demographic difference between Latinos and other groups:
Latinos are the only majority male population. Among Latinos, males had a
51.3% share of the population. The share of males in the overall population is
49.0%. This divergence may be attributed to the relative youth and foreign-born
status of the Hispanic population. 5
5
Females, because of their greater longevity, comprise greater shares of older populations. Also, the incoming stream of
Hispanic migrants is predominantly male.
However, there are major differences in the age and gender structure of the
native-born and foreign-born Hispanic young adult populations. Foreign-born
Latinos are older—54.1% are ages 22 to 25, compared with 34.7% of native-born
Latinos. Conversely, only 27.2% of foreign-born Latinos are ages 16 to 19,
compared with 48.2% of native-born Latino youths. Within the native born, the
second generation is younger still. Most second-generation Latino youths (51.2%)
are still in their teenage years.
(47.6%). The relatively high share of males in the foreign-born Latino young
adult population reflects the fact that in many cases, male immigrants come first,
followed by their families.
6
Country of origin is based on self-described family ancestry or place of birth in response to questions in the Current
Population Survey. It is not necessarily the same as place of birth. For example, a person born in Los Angeles may
identify his or her country of origin as Mexico. Likewise, some people born in Mexico may identify another country as
their origin depending on the place of birth of their ancestors.
7
This share would be higher if persons born in Puerto Rico were not included as part of the foreign born population.
3. Identity
Hispanics in the United States have several options when it comes to describing
their identity. They can use an ethnic label such as “Hispanic” or “Latino”; they
can use their family’s country of origin; or they can call themselves “American.”
The National Survey of Latinos finds that most have used all of these descriptors
at one time or another. But it also finds that their first choice by far is their
family’s country of origin.
This chapter explores the many ways Latino youths identify themselves, including
by race, ethnicity, and nationality. It also examines how they have been socialized
by their parents in ways that relate to their sense of identity. And it reports their
views about whether or not there is a common culture among Hispanics in the
U.S.
holds even once the number of years an immigrant has been in the United States
is taken into account.
Use of the term “American” also varies with patterns of language dominance.
More than nine-in-ten (93%) young Latinos who predominantly speak English say
they use the term to describe themselves. This share falls to two-thirds (66%)
among predominantly bilingual young Latinos and to less than three-in-ten (28%)
among young Latinos who predominantly speak Spanish.
These patterns in the first use of the terms “country of origin” and “American” are
also linked to language dominance patterns. Seven-in-ten (70%) Spanish-
dominant young Latinos say they use their country of origin first, compared with
six-in-ten (60%) bilingual young Latinos and nearly a third (32%) of English-
dominant young Latinos. A similar, but reversed, pattern holds regarding the use
of “American.” Nearly half (47%) of English-dominant young Latinos say they
“My dad and his whole side of the family…[are] diehard Cubans. My mom’s family is pretty
much…white Anglo Saxon…and my dad never taught me or my sister Spanish. So….we go to
family dinners…and it’s like you can’t even communicate with your family.”
19-year-old Hispanic male
“America, like the culture, it’s so varied. So many different people from so many different
countries. But if you say you’re Dominican, then you get into more like who we are…the food,
the music…”
25-year-old Hispanic female
“I’m Mexican…that’s what I call myself all the time. Always has been and always will be.”
18-year-old Hispanic male
Racial Identification
A large majority of young Latinos do
not see themselves fitting into the
categories of race used by the U.S.
Census Bureau. When asked “What
race do you consider yourself to be:
white, black or African-American,
Asian, or some other race?” more than
three-in-four (76%) young Latinos say
they are some other race (36%) or
volunteer that their race is Hispanic or
Latino (40%). 8 Fewer than one-in-five
(19%) say their race is either white
(16%) or black (3%). 9
Patterns of racial identification vary among Latino youths. More than four-in-ten
(44%) second-generation young Latinos identify their race as “some other race.”
This is higher than the share of first-generation young Latinos (29%) or third-
generation young Latinos (31%) who say the same. In contrast, 45% of foreign-
born young Latinos volunteer that their race is Hispanic or Latino, compared with
37% of second-generation and 38% of third-generation young Latinos. In all
cases, very few young Latinos identify their race as white or black.
8
“Hispanic” and “Latino” are terms meant to describe an ethnic group (i.e., one that shares a common culture, language and
heritage) rather than a racial group (i.e., one that shares certain distinctive physical and genetic characteristics). But as
this and other surveys attest, many Americans see their identities in ways that do not neatly conform to the classification
systems used by the Census Bureau and the media.
9
This pattern of racial identification is similar to that reported in the 2002 National Survey of Latinos (Pew Hispanic
Center/Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002), but different from that reported in the 2000 U.S. Census, where nearly half
(48%) of all Hispanics identified their race as white (Tafoya, 2004).
The survey also finds that today’s older Latinos report being raised by their
parents with a stronger sense of pride in being American than today’s younger
Latinos report receiving from their parents. Nearly four-in-ten (39%) Latinos ages
26 and older say their parents talked often about their pride in being American;
fewer than three-in-ten (29%) young Latinos (ages 16 to 25) say the same.
“Growing up…I didn’t speak a lot of Spanish because my dad had…always told me… ‘Speak
English because I want you to do well in school,’ and … ‘I don’t want you to have an accent or
people judge you.’”
20-year-old Hispanic female
Yet no matter which term young Latinos use first to describe themselves, fewer
say their parents encouraged them often to speak only English than say their
parents encouraged them to speak Spanish. This gap is smallest among young
Latinos who call themselves American first. Some 30% of this group says their
parents encouraged them to speak only English, while 37% say their parents often
encouraged them to speak Spanish. As for those who first identify by their
family’s country of origin or as Hispanic or Latino, only about one-in-five Latino
youths say their parents often encouraged them to speak only English.
Family Motivations
The survey asked native-born Hispanics
and foreign-born Hispanics who were
younger than 16 when they arrived in the
U.S. about their parents’ or family’s
motivation for coming to the U.S. Among
young Hispanics, almost half (47%) say
their families came to “create a better life for you,” and 36% say their parents or
other family members came to “create a better life for themselves.” Among older
Hispanics, more than four-in-ten (42%) say their families came to the U.S. “to
create a better life for themselves” and 39% of older Hispanics say their families
came to “create a better life for you.”
Personal Motivations
Among immigrants 16 to 25 years old, a
slightly different mix of motivations is
cited. Nearly four-in-ten (39%) young
immigrants say they came to the U.S. to
make a better life for themselves. This is
followed by 29% who say they immigrated
to make a better life for their children and
25% who say they came to help support
family in their home country.
“My mom didn’t get into details [of why they came to the U.S.], but we know why they did it.”
21-year-old Hispanic male
Overall, young Hispanics see more harmony than conflict; nearly two-thirds of
Hispanic youths (64%) say Latinos from different countries of origin get along
well, while a more than a third (35%) say they do not. Similar shares of adult
Hispanics say the same.
“For me…the whole race dynamic is interesting…I look at my grandpa…[he] is black. I look at
my other grandpa, he’s really indigenous…hair, features…very very indigenous. Its this hybrid
blood.”
19-year-old Hispanic female
“I had a problem when, on applications they [ask]…White, African American, Asian, other.
There was no Hispanic…I always have a problem when there is no Hispanic or Latino or
anything…”
20-year-old Hispanic female
4. Language Use
In their use of language, Latinos in the United States are following a trajectory
well known to immigrant groups around the world and through the ages—from
one generation to the next, immigrant families grow more proficient with their
new language and less with their old (Hakimzadeh and Cohn, 2007; Pew Hispanic
Center, 2004). The 2009 National Survey of Latinos finds that these generational
shifts are quite dramatic among Latino youths. For example, among foreign-born
16- to 25-year-olds, 48% can carry on a conversation in English, 10 but among
their native-born counterparts, the likelihood of speaking proficiently in English
more than doubles, to 98% for the second generation and 97% for the third
generation.
As these numbers suggest, the boundary between English and Spanish can often
be porous for Latinos of all ages and immigrant generations. Indeed, seven-in-ten
(70%) Latino youths say that when conversing with family and friends they use a
fusion tongue known as “Spanglish” that mixes words from both languages—a
practice that exists among the third and higher generations as well.
“I was at a T.J. Maxx with my Columbian friend, and we were talking in Spanish, and this white
person said ‘You’re supposed to speak English in America.’ And I said, ‘Oh really? So you
need to learn Spanish because this is a changing country. Get over it.’”
25-year-old Hispanic female
“Sometimes we speak Spanish to hide things from other people that don’t understand the
language.”
16-year-old Hispanic male
10
In discussing speaking and reading abilities, phrases and words denoting proficiency, fluency, conversance and ability to
speak and read are used interchangeably to represent people who report that they can speak/read “very well” or “pretty
well.”
Spanish speaking and reading proficiency is very similar among Latinos ages 26
and older. Some 80% speak Spanish very well or pretty well, and when it comes
to reading and writing in Spanish, 76% report that they can do so very well or
pretty well. Older Latinos are less likely to report proficiency in speaking or
reading English. Fifty-eight percent report that they are conversant in English, and
a similar share say they can write proficiently in English. However, these
differences in English ability are driven entirely by the fact that there are more
foreign born among older Latinos. If older Latinos had the same nativity profile as
Latino youths, their English language ability would be identical.
Primary Language
The Pew Hispanic Center has developed a “primary language” measure that
combines all four dimensions of English and Spanish reading and speaking
ability. Among youths, more than one-third (36%) are classified as English
dominant according to this measure, while 41% are considered bilingual, and the
remaining 23% are Spanish dominant.
Use of Spanglish
Over time, the bilingual preferences and
proficiencies of so many Hispanics have
led to the development of “Spanglish,” an
informal hybrid of English and Spanish.
While being bilingual in Spanish and
English implies the ability to read, write
and converse in either language, using
Spanglish typically implies using Spanish
and English words interchangeably within
one conversation or piece of writing.
Survey respondents were asked how often,
if at all, they used Spanglish when speaking
with their family or friends. Some 23% of
youths report using Spanglish most of the
There are some small variances in these patterns by immigrant generation. More
than two-in-ten (22%) immigrant youths report using the language hybrid most of
the time, and 47% report using it some of the time. Adoption of Spanglish peaks
in the second generation; 26% report that they use it most of the time, and 53%
report that they use it some of the time. The likelihood of using any Spanglish is
lower among the third generation, though 20% use it most of the time, and 37%
use it some of the time.
“I’m like half and half, but when I turn on the radio I’m most likely to go to a Spanish station,
then I’ll go to an English station.”
15-year-old Hispanic female
“There’s certain things that I prefer watching in Spanish. Like if there’s a good soccer game on,
but it is only available in English, I might not watch it.”
19-year-old Hispanic male
5. Economic Well-Being
The economic well-being of any group of youths ages 16 to 25 depends in part on
the economic status of the households in which they live and in part on their own
personal engagement with the labor market. On both fronts, Latino youths lag
well behind white youths. But they surpass black youths on most measures of
economic well-being and are more active in the labor market than Asian youths.
Among Latino youths, there are significant differences on most of these measures
by nativity. Foreign-born Latino youths on average live in households with lower
incomes than those of the native born. The foreign born also are more likely than
the native born to live in poverty, less likely to live in owner-occupied homes,
more likely to lack health insurance and more likely to have a lower-skill job.
But compared with native-born Latino youths, foreign-born Latino youths are
more active in the labor force and a smaller share is unemployed. This is partly
because foreign-born Latino youths are relatively older (they skew more toward
the upper end of the 16-to-25 age range) and less likely to be enrolled in school.
Household Well-Being
Latino youths are
more likely than
other youths to
live in families
whose income is
below the poverty
level. The U.S.
government
calculates poverty
based on a
combination of
household income
and the number of
people living in
the household. For
instance, a family
of four, including
two related
children, with an
income of less than $21,834 in 2008 was defined to be living below the poverty
threshold. 11
Some 23% of Latino youths lived in families whose income was below the
poverty level in 2008. That was less than the share of black youths (28%) who
lived in poverty but was well above the shares of white (13%) and Asian (18%)
youths who lived in poverty.
Likewise, Latino youths are less likely than average to live in owner-occupied
homes—47% versus 59% of all youths—and more likely than average to lack
health insurance—41% compared with 26% of all youths.
11
Poverty thresholds, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, are available at
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/threshld/thresh08.html.
12
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data show that Hispanic youths last experienced unemployment rates higher than 20% in
1983. Other youths and all workers in general are also experiencing the highest unemployment rates in nearly three
decades. BLS data are for ages 16 to 24, slightly different than the 16-to-25 age group that defines youths in this report.
This section explores the labor market outcomes of Latino youths during the third
quarter of 2009, more than 1½ years into the ongoing recession. The
unemployment rate (or the share of the labor force that is looking for work) is but
one indicator of labor market outcomes. Two other key indicators examined in
this section are the labor force participation rate—the share of the population that
is either employed or looking for work—and the employment rate—the share of
the population that is employed.
Latino youths are nearly as active in the labor market as all youths. Some 58.9%
of Latino youths participate in the labor market, compared with 61.5% of all
youths. Labor force participation among young Hispanics exceeds that among
blacks and Asians but falls short of the rate (65.6%) among whites. Consistent
with these trends, a greater share of Latino youths (46.9%) is employed than black
(37.4%) or Asian (41.0%) youths. However, the employment rate among white
youths is higher (56.0%).
With respect to unemployment, the rates for black youths tend to run much higher
than those of others groups, and this is true both in good and bad economic times.
The unemployment rate for black youths (28.1%) in the third quarter of 2009 is
well above that of Hispanic (20.4%), Asian (15.8%) and white (14.7%) youths.
Among Latino youths, labor market outcomes for the foreign born appear better
than for the native born by most measures. In the third quarter of 2009, the
unemployment rate for first-generation Latino youth—16.7%—was six
percentage points less than the rate for native-born youth—22.6%.
Foreign-born Latino youths are also more active in the labor market than their
native-born peers. Of the 7.6 million Latinos ages 16 to 25, some 58.9% were
active in the labor force in the third quarter of 2009. 13 However, 64.2% of
foreign-born Latino youths were participating in the labor force, compared with
56.1% of native-born youths. Likewise, a greater share of the foreign-born Latino
youth population is employed—53.5% for the foreign born, compared with 43.4%
of the native born.
13
The population estimates in this section differ slightly from preceding estimates in this report that are derived from the
March 2009 Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
The greater engagement of foreign-born Latino youths with the labor market is
most likely a result of their age and school enrollment—they are both older and
less likely to be in school. With respect to age, the majority of foreign-born
youths in the 16-to-25 cohort—54.1%—are ages 22 to 25, compared with only
34.7% of native-born youths (Table 2.2 above). As shown in Table 5.5, labor
market outcomes improve steadily with age, for Hispanic youths as well as for all
youths.
For example, only 18.2% of Latino youths enrolled full time in high school in the
third quarter of 2009 participated in the labor force. That compares with
participation rates of 41.8% among part-time high school attendees, 46.7% among
full-time college enrollees and 79.5% among those attending college part time.
The participation rate among Latino youths not enrolled in either college or high
school is 70.1%. Because native-born Latino youths are more likely to be of high
school age and more likely to attend school than foreign-born youths, they are
more restrained in their labor market activities.
14
Another 10.8% of foreign-born Latino youths are in sales and related occupations, implying that nearly two-thirds work in
just five occupations.
“You’re bilingual so that you have a major opportunity in jobs. So you know, most jobs
nowadays…the Hispanic population is getting so much bigger that [jobs] are requiring people
who know two languages…so you have an advantage over whites and blacks.”
25-old-Hispanic female
This chapter 17 analyzes educational outcomes for youths using data from the
March 2009 Current Population Survey. 18 It also presents findings from the 2009
National Survey of Latinos and other surveys that explore young people’s
attitudes toward education.
School Enrollment
Nearly half (48.9%) of Latinos ages 16 to 24 were not enrolled in either high
school or college in March 2009, while 30.6% were enrolled in high school and
20.5% were enrolled in college.
15
Kewal Ramani, Gilbertson, Fox and Provasnik, 2007.
16
For more background, see the Pew Hispanic Center report “The Changing Pathways of Hispanic Youths into Adulthood”
(Fry, 2009).
17
Many of the findings in this chapter were presented in a Pew Hispanic Center report, “Latinos and Education: Explaining
the Attainment Gap,” published Oct. 7, 2009. That report was prepared for the Latino Children, Families, and Schooling
National Conference sponsored jointly by the Education Writers Association, the Pew Hispanic Center and the National
Panel on Latino Children and Schooling. The conference was held Oct. 6, 2009 at the Pew Hispanic Center in
Washington, D.C.
18
The CPS-based analysis is restricted to ages 16 to 24 because that is the age range the CPS uses to collect and present data
on school enrollment. The estimates in this section will differ slightly from official government estimates, which are
typically based on the October 2009 CPS. That is because school enrollment and attainment measures are subject to
seasonal fluctuations.
There is little difference between young Hispanics and other youths in the shares
enrolled in high school. Just as with young Hispanics, about 30% of all groups of
youths are enrolled in high school. However, the share of non-Hispanic youths
enrolled in college is higher: 30.4% for whites, 24.6% for blacks and 44.4% for
Asians.
Among those enrolled in college, Latino youths are more likely to attend on a
part-time basis. Nearly one-in-four (23.7%) Latino college students attend only
part time, much higher than the national average of 14.7% and nearly double the
rate among whites (12.4%). Almost all youths enrolled in high school attend on a
full-time basis.
A primary reason Latino youths trail other youths on enrollment measures is the
relatively low rate of school enrollment among the foreign born. Nearly two-
thirds (65.7%) of foreign-born Latino youths are not enrolled in either high school
or college, compared with 41.6% of all youths. Native-born Latino youths
(41.1%), meanwhile, are no more likely than all youths to not be enrolled in either
high school or college.
There are two differences in the pattern of school enrollment between native-born
Hispanic youths and all youths. First, there are relatively more native-born
Hispanic youths in high school—35.3% versus 30.2%—and relatively fewer in
college—23.6% versus 28.2%. That is because native-born Hispanics, even
within the 16-to-24 cohort, are younger than average. In other words, native-born
Hispanics are more likely to be of high school age than college age.
Further, native-born Latino youths, like foreign-born youths, are less likely to be
enrolled full time in either college or high school. Some 22.8% of native-born and
Within the cohort of native-born Latino youths, the children of immigrants, or the
second generation, show greater engagement with schooling than the third and
higher generations. Only 36.8% of second-generation Latino youths are not
enrolled in either high school or college. That share is lower than the share for all
youths (41.6%) and the shares of white (40.4%) and black (41.5%) youths who
are not enrolled in school. However, among those in college, second-generation
young Latinos are more likely than the third and higher generations to attend part
time—25.9% versus 18.2%.
Educational Attainment
The educational attainment of youths is difficult to define unambiguously because
so many youths ages 16 to 24 are still in the process of completing their
schooling. This section presents evidence on three indicators in common use in
the education literature. The first is the so-called status dropout rate. That is
simply the share of youths who have not received a high school diploma or an
equivalency certificate and are not enrolled in school or college.
19
Also, it is the case that Latino youths are more likely to attend two-year colleges and less likely to attend four-year colleges
than other youths (Fry, 2005).
A second measure is the “status completion rate.” This statistic, used by the
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), measures the high school
completion rate for youths ages 18 to 24. 20 Age 18 is the lower bound for this
measure because most high school graduates have earned the diploma by that age.
The final indicator is a college enrollment rate, the share of those who have
finished high school and are enrolled in college. Because this rate is defined only
for those with a high school diploma or equivalency certificate, it differs from the
enrollment patterns for the entire population of youths as reported in the
preceding section.
Latino youths have much higher dropout rates than other youths. In March 2009,
some 17.2% of Latino youths had not received a high school diploma or
equivalent and were not enrolled in school, compared with only 8.3% of all
youths. The dropout rate for Latino youths was nearly twice as high as the rate for
black youths (9.3%), three times the rate for white youths (5.7%) and more than
four times the rate for Asian youths (3.7%).
Correspondingly, the high school completion rate among Latino youths ages 18 to
24 was much lower than average—77.2% compared with 89.7% for all youths.
And among those who have graduated from high school, only 38.8% of Latinos
ages 16 to 24 were enrolled in college. That was lower than the rates for all
youths (45.6%), whites (46.4%), blacks (43.1%) and Asians (66.0%).
The high dropout rate among Hispanic youths is driven by the foreign born. Some
32.9% of foreign-born Latino youths are high school dropouts. In contrast, 9.9%
of native-born Latino youths are high school dropouts. Compared with other
racial and ethnic groups, the dropout rate of native-born Latino youths is similar
20
The status completion rate is defined for 18- to 24-year-olds who are no longer enrolled in high school.
to the rate for black youths, but it is nearly double the rate for white youths and
almost three times the rate for Asian youths. Notably, the second generation of
Latino youths has a lower dropout rate than the third and higher generations—
8.5% versus 11.6%.
Foreign-born Latino youths are also the primary reason that the high school
completion rate for all Hispanics is below average. The high school completion
rate for foreign-born Latino youths ages 18 to 24 is only 60.3%, well below the
rate for native-born young Latinos (87.0%). The second generation of Latino
youths has a high school completion rate of 89.1%, higher than the third and
higher generations and matching the national completion rate, but trailing the
white completion rate of 93.5%.
Likewise, there is not a large difference between native-born Hispanics and other
youths in the shares of high school completers who are enrolled in college. Some
42.7% of native-born Hispanic high school completers are enrolled in college,
compared with 45.6% of all youths and 46.4% of white youths. Among native-
born Hispanics, the college enrollment rate is higher among the second generation
than among third and higher generations—46.2% versus 38.3%. Foreign-born
Latino youths have the lowest college enrollment rate (29.1%) and account for the
relatively low enrollment rate observed for all Hispanics.
Educational Expectations
The value that young Latinos place on a
college education is not nearly matched by
their own personal expectations for
educational advancement. Some 48% of young
Latinos ages 18 to 25 say they expect to get a
college degree or more, compared with 60% of
the overall U.S. population of non-Hispanic
youths ages 18 to 25. 21
21
For more background on the general U.S. young adult population ages 18 to 25, see the Pew Research Center for the
People & the Press report “How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics: A Portrait of ‘Generation Next’”
(2007).
22
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, among eighth-graders, a smaller share of Hispanic students
(15%) than non-Hispanic white (39%) or Asian/Pacific Islander (40%) students scored at or above proficient on the
reading assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2005. On the 2005 mathematics
assessment of the NAEP, among eighth-graders, a smaller percentage of Hispanic (13%) students than non-Hispanic
white (39%) or Asian/Pacific Islander (47%) students scored at or above proficient levels (Kewal Ramani, Gilbertson,
Fox and Provasnik, 2007). Among high school twelfth-graders in 2008, Hispanic students scored 9% lower than non-
Hispanic white students on the NAEP reading assessment, and Hispanic students scored 7% lower than non-Hispanic
white students on the NAEP mathematics assessment (Planty et al., 2009).
“Parents expect so much and it gets…overwhelming. You have to support your family and take
care of your brothers and sisters… [and] some people gotta grow up [quick and] basically
never really have a childhood.”
15-year-old Hispanic male
“Our parents are exhausted every time they come home. They don’t have time to be ‘oh you
need help with your homework?’”
21-year-old Hispanic male
When it comes to their core social values, young Latinos who are either
immigrants themselves or whose dominant language is Spanish tend to be more
conservative and family-oriented than young Latinos who are in the third and
higher generation. Latinos who are second generation typically fall in between.
A similar pattern is evident among young Latinos when these responses are
analyzed by language use. Three-in-four young Latinos who speak primarily
Perceptions of Discrimination
Notwithstanding their satisfaction with
life and optimism about the future, a
sizable minority of Hispanics say that
they or someone they know has been the
target of racial or ethnic discrimination.
Nearly four-in-ten (38%) young Hispanics
and 31% of older Hispanics say this has
happened to them, a family member or a
close friend in the past five years.
A 2008 Pew Research survey (Taylor et al., 2008) that presented this same battery
of questions to the full U.S. population (18 and older) found much smaller gaps
between the importance of career success (61% very important), having children
(61%), being married (53%) and being religious (52%). In short, while Latinos
ascribe more value to each of these priorities than does the U.S. population as a
whole, they also are more disposed than the population as a whole to place career
success on a higher pedestal than their other life priorities.
Some of this difference is attributable to the fact that Latinos ages 16 and older
are much younger than the U.S. adult population—and career success tends to be
a very high priority among younger adults. In fact, when one compares the 2009
responses of young Latinos ages 16 to 25 with the 2008 responses of all young
adults ages 18 to 25, the rankings tend to converge. Being successful in a career is
by far the top priority for both groups. Nearly nine-in-ten (89%) young Latinos
say it is very important, as do eight-in-ten (80%) young adults in the full
population.
23
Some of these differences fall short of statistical significance.
Family Values
Gender Roles
Latino cultures around the world are
known for a streak of paternalism. But a
question in the 2009 National Survey of
Latinos about whether the husband should
generally have the final say in family
matters finds mixed attitudes among
Latinos living in the United States. Only
about four-in-ten (43%) Latinos agree with
the statement, while 56% disagree.
When this same question was posed on a Pew Hispanic survey in 2002 (Pew
Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002), just 36% of all respondents
said that the husband should be the lead family decision-maker.
“[In] Caucasian culture, you’re expected to be out of your house when…you’re done with high
school. 18. And Latinos…no! We are expected to be with our parents until we get married.”
21-year-old Hispanic male
“With us [Latinos], our grandmother lives in the house, our grandfather is there, our uncle lives
with us and we can stay in the house till whenever. They [parents] don’t ever ask you to move
out. [They’ll say] ‘Until you get old enough, you’re good, you help us pay some bills. You don’t
have to leave.’ Its like ‘You’re living with us.’”
25-year-old Hispanic female
Religion
“We do a Rosario once a month and who ever offers [their home] gets to have the Virgin Mary
[statue] in their home. And then who ever offers the house, gets to keep [the Virgin Mary] for a
month, and everyone brings food and prays for an hour.”
25-year-old Hispanic female
24
Results for the general population are from tabulations of Pew Research Center Aggregated Surveys, 2009.
Abortion
Hispanics overall hold a more conservative
view than the general U.S. population
about abortion rights. More than half
(56%) of Hispanics ages 16 and older say
abortion should be illegal in most or all
cases, compared with less than half (45%)
of the adult U.S. population that says the
same (The Pew Forum on Religion &
Public Life and The Pew Research Center
for the People and the Press 2009a). 25
25
The phrasing of this question on abortion rights is “Do you think abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases,
illegal in most cases or illegal in all cases?” The responses “legal in all cases” and “legal in most cases” are grouped as
“legal.” And the responses “illegal in most cases” and “illegal in all cases” are grouped as “illegal.”
Gay Marriage
Just as they do with abortion, Latinos tend
to hold somewhat more conservative views
than the general U.S. population on the
subject of gay marriage. More than a third
(34%) of Latinos ages 16 and older in the
2009 National Survey of Latinos say they
favor gay marriage, an opinion shared by
nearly four-in-ten (39%) of the general
population of adults, according to a recent
survey of the U.S. population (The Pew
Forum on Religion & Public Life and The
Pew Research Center for the People & the
Press 2009b). Yet while Latinos are less
likely to favor gay marriage, they are also
less likely than the general U.S. adult
population to oppose it. Less than half
(44%) of Latinos ages 16 and older say
they oppose gay marriage, while more than
half (53%) of the general adult population
says the same. This apparent paradox is
explained by the fact that more than one-
in-five (21%) Latinos ages 16 and older
refuse to answer the question or have no
opinion, compared with just 8% of the
general U.S. adult population.
Not only do Latinos have children at younger ages than non-Latinos, they also
marry at younger ages. Some 15% of Latinos ages 16 to 25 are married, compared
with 9% of non-Latinos in that age group. The higher marriage rate for Latinos is
driven primarily by immigrant youths, 22% of whom are married. Marriage rates
among native-born Latinos—10% for the second generation and 11% for the third
generation—don’t differ markedly from the rate for non-Latinos.
Despite their relatively high rate of teen parenthood, most Latino youths do not
look favorably upon having children prior to age 20. Three-fourths (75%) say that
the prevalence of teens having babies is not good for society, an opinion shared
by 90% of the overall youth population in the U.S.
Nearly seven-in-ten Latino youths (69%) say that teen parenthood hinders the
ability to achieve one’s life goals. However, Latino youths are more inclined than
other youths to favor parenthood at a relatively young age. Latinos say that the
ideal age for a woman to have a child is 24, and for a man it is 25. Among all
youths, these figures are 26 for a woman and 28 for a man. 26
Among young Latinos, there is only a small difference in the likelihood of having
had sexual intercourse prior to age 20 by nativity. Nor does the likelihood of
having engaged in teen sex differ between Latino youths and their older
counterparts. However, Latino youths are far more likely than older Latinos to
report that they engaged in sex prior to the age of 16.
When it comes to attitudes about teen sex (as distinct from behaviors), once again
there are no significant differences by generation among young Latinos, but there
are differences between younger and older Latinos. Latino youths are more
tolerant of teen sex within a serious relationship or of teen sex that involves using
protection; Latinos older than 25 are markedly less accepting of teen sexual
activity no matter what the context.
26
These estimates are medians of the ideal age provided by respondents.
Immigrant Latino youths have much higher rates of marriage than those who are
native born, but there is little difference in marriage rates between the second and
third generations. About two-in-ten (22%) Latino immigrant youths are married, a
rate that is twice as high as the rates for native-born generations. Some 10% of the
second generation and 11% of the third generation are married—rates that are
comparable to non-Hispanic youths. The cohabitation rate is 9% for immigrants
and the third generation, and 5% for the second generation.
While 61% of non-Hispanic youths live with their parents, this share drops to
57% among Latino youths (Table 8.2). However, Latinos are twice as likely as
non-Hispanics to reside with a relative other than their parents, spouse or partner.
While only 5% of non-Latinos are in this living arrangement, the share rises to
10% for Latinos, due entirely to the high proportion of immigrants living in this
type of arrangement. Despite the fact that they are more likely to be married and
have children, Hispanics are no more likely than non-Hispanics to be the head of
household (or spouse or partner of the head of household); 27% of each group live
in this type of arrangement.
The plurality of foreign-born Latino youths (34%) are the head of a household or
the spouse of a head of household. Among the second generation, 20% are a head
of household, or the spouse of one who is, and among the third generation, this
share is 27%—the same as in the non-Hispanic youth population.
Immigrant Latino youths are far less likely than their native-born counterparts to
be living in a home with their parents. More than one-third (38%) of the first
generation are living with a parent, compared with 72% of second-generation
Latino youths. Once again, the third generation mirrors the non-Latino
population, with 61% living with a parent.
Though immigrants are less likely to be living with a parent, they are more likely
than the second or third generations to be residing with relatives other than a
parent or spouse. Some 16% of the first generation lives as such, while only 6%
of the second generation and 7% of the third generation are living in this type of
arrangement.
Most notable is the fact that immigrants are far more likely than their native-born
counterparts to be living with nonrelatives. While 13% of immigrants are living
with nonrelatives, only 2% of the second generation and 4% of the third
generation fall into this category.
Fertility
Hispanic females tend to have more children than their non-Hispanic counterparts
and to start having children at younger ages. On average, Hispanic females give
birth to just over three children. In comparison, black females are projected to
have an average of 2.15 children, and for whites the number is 1.86. 27
The high fertility and youthful profile of Hispanic mothers is reflected in high
birthrates for Hispanic females ages 16 to 25. In 2006, 140 of every 1,000
27
Based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the National Center for Health Statistics’ 2006 Natality Public Use File and
the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey.
Hispanic females in this age cohort gave birth—more than double the rate for
white females in the same age group (60 births per 1,000) and markedly higher
than the rate for black females (110 births per 1,000). 28 Immigrant Hispanic
youths have particularly high levels of fertility; their annual birthrates are 50%
higher than those of their native-born peers. 29
The story is similar when examining births to teens (Figure 8.2). 31 In 2007, 82 of
every 1,000 Hispanic females ages 15 to 19 experienced a birth compared with 43
of every 1,000 females ages 15 to 19 in the general population. From 1990 to
2007, the rate of births to Hispanic females ages 15 to 19 declined by 18%.
Among all females in that age group, there was a 29% decline (Hamilton, Martin,
and Ventura, 2009).
28
Based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the National Center for Health Statistics’ 2006 Natality Public Use File and
the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey.
29
Based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the 2005, 2006 and 2007 American Community Surveys.
30
The pregnancy rate is the number of pregnancies occurring in a given year in a given population divided by the number of
women in that population, multiplied by 1,000.
31
The birth rate is the number of births occurring in a given year in a given population divided by the number of women in
that population, multiplied by 1,000.
Sexual Activity
In the 2009 National Survey of Latinos sample of
youths ages 16 to 25, 77% report that they have
had sexual intercourse, and 28% say they had sex
prior to turning 16.
32
Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the 2004, 2006 and 2008 Current Population Survey June Fertility Supplements. Note
that these are underestimates of completed teen fertility, because some 19-year-olds will go on to give birth prior to
reaching age 20.
33
This sample includes ages 18 and 19 to elicit sample sizes large enough to analyze. Again, the results are underestimates of
completed teen fertility.
34
Anyone who had sex prior to age 20 is considered as having had sex as a teen, though in a few cases respondents first had
sexual intercourse prior to becoming teenagers.
35
Some 18% of those ages 16 to 25 report they became a parent in their teens.
Among Latino youths who are immigrants, 38% agree or strongly agree that teen
sex within a serious relationship is OK. This share is 50% among the second
generation and 53% among the third generation. When it comes to teens having
sex while using protection, the approval ratings among immigrants increase
markedly. Some 57% of immigrant youths agree or strongly agree that it is OK to
have sex as a teen if protection is used. This number is also 57% among the
second generation and 51% among third-generation youths.
“A lot of…Hispanic girls just…get pregnant at a really young age and it makes it difficult for
them ‘cause usually the father of the baby might not even stay with them.”
15-year-old Hispanic female
“I feel like Latino parents in general…and I don’t know if I’m just generalizing…but they’re not
very straightforward with what sex can lead to and how you can practice safe sex. Its more like
‘Just don’t have sex!’”
20-year-old Hispanic female
“Everybody in that school, every girl, whether Hispanic, black whatever…they’re pregnant,
either there’s a first child, second, third, fourth…they’re always pregnant, they’re around my
age, 16, 17, there is a lot of pregnancy. It’s ridiculous.”
17-year-old Hispanic female
36
Pew Hispanic Center tabulations from the Pew Social & Demographic Trends 2009 Fertility Survey. The sample for the
general population includes people ages 18 to 25. In analyses limiting the 2009 National Survey of Latinos sample to
ages 18 to 25, 75% said that more teen births were bad for society, and 19% said they made no difference.
37
1999 Virginia Slims Survey; results shown only for respondents ages 18 to 24. In analyses limiting the Latino sample to
ages 18 to 24, 31% thought the ideal age for a woman to have her first baby was younger than 22, 46% thought it was
between 22 and 25, and 17% thought it was older than 25. Some 21% thought the ideal age for men to become a father
was less than 22, 42% thought it was between 22 and 25, and 32% thought it was older than 25.
becoming a dad prior to age 22 is ideal, while only 5% of youths in the general
population concur. The plurality of Latinos (44%) favor men becoming fathers
between the ages of 22 and 25, compared with 22% of youths in the general
population who consider that the ideal age. And finally, while 29% of Latino
youths think men should wait until after age 25 to have a child, well over half
(61%) of youths in the general population feel that way.
38
Because this survey was conducted only among Latino youths, it is not possible to compare these results with responses to
the same questions among non-Latino youths. However, other data sources allow for racial and ethnic comparisons on
some of these measures. For example, while Hispanics make up about 15% of the total U.S. population, the 2009
National Youth Gang Survey Analysis prepared by the federally funded National Gang Center estimates that 49% of all
gang members nationally are Hispanic, 35% are black and 7% are of another other race or ethnicity.
For example, fully 13% of all those ages 20 or 21 report they had been threatened
with a weapon in the past 12 months. In contrast, only 7% of those 16 or 17 years
old and an equal percentage of those 24 or 25 say they were threatened—an age
pattern apparent in varying degrees on each of at-risk behaviors or experiences
asked about in the survey.
Why are the late teens and early 20s particularly hazardous years? These data can
only partially answer that question. But the survey suggests that the younger
group (ages 16 to 17) is more likely to be in school than are those in their early
20s. At the same time, slightly older Hispanics are more likely to be establishing
families and careers, conditions that may reduce their exposure to risk behaviors
or the temptations of the street.
Not surprisingly, the survey finds big gender differences on these questions.
Young Hispanic males are significantly more likely than young Hispanic females
to have engaged in risky behaviors such as fighting (19% versus 7%) or carrying a
weapon (9% versus 3%). The survey also finds that more religious Latino youths
are less likely to report engaging in risky behaviors than are their less-religious
peers. Moreover, religion may help explain why immigrants, who tend to be more
religious than native-born Latinos, are less likely to tempt fate by carrying
weapons, getting into fights or joining gangs.
About two-in-ten young Latinos (22%) say they were questioned by police in the
past year—a response that could encompass positive or benign contacts with law
enforcement as well as more negative experiences. 39
The survey also asked Latinos about the presence of gangs in local high schools
and the impact they have on community life. Only 3% of Latinos ages 16 to 25
say they are now or have ever been in a gang. But slightly more than three-in-ten
(31%) say they have relatives or friends who are current or former gang members.
The proportion who say they know someone who is now or has been in a gang
swells to 40% among Hispanic youths born in the United States.
Latinos who trace their heritage to Mexico—a group that comprises more than
six-in-ten Hispanics in the U.S.—are nearly twice as likely as other Latinos to say
a friend or relative is a current or former gang member. However, Latinos of
Mexican descent are no more likely than other Hispanics to report that they are or
have been in a gang. Mexican-Americans also are no more likely than other
Latinos to say they have been in a fight or involved with weapons in the past year.
The remainder of this section examines in greater detail how such factors as
nativity, age, education, religiosity and gender, together and separately, increase
the likelihood that Latino youths will engage in risky behaviors. It will also
examine how these core demographic groups view the impact of gangs on life in
their communities.
39
The survey finds that young people who report experiences with violence or risky behaviors—fighting, carrying weapons,
being in a gang—also are more likely to report they were questioned by police in the previous year than those who did
not have these experiences.
40
Summaries of the latest research into the Immigrant Paradox were presented at Brown University in March 2009 at the
conference “The Immigrant Paradox in Education and Behavior: Is becoming American a developmental risk?” Videos
and slides from the presentations are available online at http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Education/paradox/
The years immediately after their 18th birthdays—the age at which most young
people have graduated from high school but before they begin to settle down—are
particularly risky for young Latinos, these data suggest. On question after
question, the youngest members of this age cohort—those 16 and 17 years old—
and the oldest (23 to 25) are less likely than those 18 to 22 to have engaged in
risky behaviors or been questioned by the police.
About one-of-six Latinos ages 18 to 22 (17%) say they were in a fight in the past
year, compared with 12% of those younger than 18 and 9% of those older than 22.
Latinos ages 18 to 22 are more than twice as likely as either younger or older
Latino youths to say they carried a weapon (8% for those ages 18 to 22, compared
with 3% of all 16- or 17-year-olds and 4% of those ages 23 to 25). They also were
slightly more likely than older Latino youths to have been threatened with a
weapon and nearly twice as likely as younger Latinos to have been questioned by
police (27% versus 13%).
When the results of the three questions measuring exposure to at-risk situations—
carrying a weapon, being threatened with a weapon, fighting—are combined, the
age pattern among young Latinos again sharpens. Slightly less than a quarter of
all 18- to 22-year-olds (23%) have experienced at least one of the three risk
behaviors in the past year, compared with 17% of Latino youths younger than 18
and 13% of Latino youths 23 or older.
What makes relatively younger and older Hispanic youths less susceptible to risk
situations than 18- to 22-year-olds? These data cannot answer that question
directly, though they do suggest that schooling as well as marital and employment
status play prominent roles.
The overwhelming majority (79%) of 16- and 17-year-old Latinos are attending
high school. Hispanics still in high school are less likely than Latinos who are not
in school to have engaged in risky behavior in the past year (26% versus 33%).
Marriage and career may be among the reasons that Hispanics ages 23 to 25 are
less prone to find themselves involved in risky situations. Latinos in this age
group are significantly more likely to work full time and to be married than those
just a few years younger, factors that this survey and other research suggest
reduce a person’s likelihood of engaging in
harmful behaviors.
This gender pattern is also apparent among immigrants, but with one familiar
difference: Young immigrants are significantly less likely than their second-
generation peers to put themselves in potentially risky situations.
Among all young Latinos, males born in the U.S. are twice as likely as those born
abroad to have carried a weapon (12% versus 5%) or to report they were
threatened with one in the past year (17% versus 8%). About a quarter of all
second-generation Latino males say they had gotten into a fight in the past 12
months, more than double the proportion of immigrant males (26% versus 11%).
Similarly, second-generation Hispanic females are twice as likely as foreign-born
Hispanic females to say they had gotten into a fight (7% versus 3%).
41
For purposes of this study, those with a high school diploma include students still in school, while non-graduates only
include those who did not graduate from high school and are no longer attending classes.
A specific example may help clarify this finding. Fully 30% of young, native-born
Latinos who failed to graduate from high school report they were in a fight last
year—double the proportion of young native-born Hispanics (15%) with at least a
high school diploma. But among younger Latinos born in another country, the
link between education and fighting largely vanishes: 8% of those with high
school diplomas and 5% of those who never finished high school got into a fight.
A similar pattern emerges on questions asking whether respondents had been
threatened with a weapon or questioned by police.
Similarly, Latinos who frequently attend religious services are only about half as
likely to say they had carried a weapon as non-attenders (4% versus 9%), or to
report they had been threatened with a weapon (5% versus 9%).
Regular attendees of religious services also are less likely to say they have ever
been in a gang (2% versus 7%) or to have been questioned by police in the past
year (17% versus 25%).
Latinos born outside the U.S. are significantly more likely to say they attend
religious services at least once a week compared with second generation or later
(41% versus 31%). When differences in attendance at religious services are taken
into account, the “risky behaviors gap” between young immigrants and their
native-born peers narrows or disappears.
42
While these numbers may suggest that the proportion of Hispanics who are involved in gangs has increased dramatically,
another finding from this survey suggests otherwise. About 3% of all Hispanics ages 16 to 25 acknowledge that they are
or have been gang members, virtually identical to the 2% of older Hispanics who acknowledge current or former gang
involvement.
About half (51%) of young Hispanics say there are youth gangs in the high school
they currently go to or the one they formerly attended. The survey further
suggests that gangs are more common in predominantly Hispanic high schools
than in those where Latinos make up less than half the student body.
While the sample of current high school students in the survey is too small to
draw firm conclusions, about six-in-ten Latinos who currently attend a high
school where at least half the students are Hispanic report that there are gangs at
their school. But gangs are less prevalent in schools where less than half the
students are Hispanic.
Hispanic youths younger than 20 are less likely than those ages 20 to 25 to
believe gangs are harmful to Hispanics in their community (62% versus 74%). At
the same time, these younger Latinos are more likely to say gangs have little or no
impact (33% versus 20%).
While majorities of each generation agree that gangs harm the Latino community,
there is considerable disagreement among young Hispanics about whether gangs
have no impact. Among young third-generation Latinos, fully 43% say gangs
have no effect one way or another on Hispanics in their areas. That’s higher than
the proportion of the second generation (27%) and significantly larger than the
share of the foreign born who say gangs have no effect on Latinos. But the
generations do agree on this: Gangs do not help the community; overall, only 2%
of each generation say gangs make life better for Hispanics in their area.
Incarceration Rates
Census data indicate that about 3% of young Hispanic males were
institutionalized in 2008 (Figure 9.4). The overwhelming preponderance of these
young men is in federal, state and local correctional facilities. The young Hispanic
male incarceration rate exceeded the rate of young white males (1%) but is less
than the rate of young black males (7%).
Studies (Butcher and Piehl, 2007; Bailey and Hayes, 2006; and Fry, 1997) based
on Census data report that immigrant adults are less likely to be incarcerated than
their native-born counterparts. Young Hispanic males fit this pattern. In 2008
about 3% of young Hispanic males born in the United States were incarcerated,
compared with 2% of young Hispanic males born outside the United States.
About 70% of young Hispanic males behind bars were born in the United States,
but the nativity of Hispanic inmates varies, depending on the type of prison. More
than 70% of Hispanics sentenced in federal courts were not U.S. citizens (a
reflection of federal enforcement of immigration law), so the vast majority of
Hispanic inmates in federal prisons were born outside the United States (Lopez
and Light, 2009). Many more Hispanics were incarcerated in state and local
correctional facilities, and most of the Hispanic inmates in these facilities were
born in the United States.
Young men are more likely to be behind bars in 2008 than was the case in 1980.
Young Hispanic men have not been an exception. In 1980 about 2% of young
“I heard a lot of friends who are from around here say ‘Maybe you should let the white guy
drive because the police will pull you over and search your car.’ I’ve been searched twice…and
they put me in handcuffs…and put me on the sidewalk and didn’t find anything and let me go.”
19-year-old Hispanic male
“[There’s] problems with kids who go and say they’re in a gang, and other kids are in another
gang, and if someone does something to the other group…they get mad…and they
retaliate…and a lot of people end up dying, and people on their MySpaces they’ll have all
these names of friends that they know who died because of gang wars.”
21-year-old Hispanic female
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Taken together, there were 711 native-born Hispanics ages 16 to 25, 529 foreign-
born Hispanics ages 16 to 25, 291 native-born Hispanics ages 26 and older and
479 foreign-born Hispanics ages 26 and older. The margin of error for native-born
youths (ages 16 to 25) is plus or minus 6.2 percentage points; for foreign-born
youths, it is plus or minus 6.5 percentage points. For second-generation youths,
the margin of error is plus or minus 7.6 percentage points, and for third-
generation youths, the margin of error is plus or minus 11.1 percentage points. For
native-born respondents ages 26 and older, the margin of error is plus or minus
8.1 percentage points, and for foreign-born respondents ages 26 and older, it is
plus or minus 5.9 percentage points.
43
Respondents younger than 18 were interviewed only with the permission of their parent or legal guardian.
younger, less likely to be married or have children, or to own a home. To address the
growing number of Hispanic households in the U.S. that are reachable only by cell
phone, the study included interviews from both landline (n=1,360) and cell phone
(n=652) sample frames.
Both sample frames were stratified via a disproportionate stratified design. All
telephone exchanges in the contiguous 48 states were divided into groups, or strata,
based on their concentration of Latino households. For the landline frame, the
sample was also run against InfoUSA and other listed databases, and then
scrubbed against known Latino surnames. Any “hits” were subdivided into a
surname stratum, with all other sample being put into other RDD strata.
The landline sample was divided into 10 mutually exclusive strata: five strata
denoted by the likely incidence of Hispanic residence, each divided into listed and
unlisted samples. Listed samples refer to phone numbers that could be matched with
available lists, indicating the presence of persons between the age of 16 and 25 in the
household. This design was intended to allow oversampling in high-incidence
Hispanic areas and targeting of households that were likely to include persons 16 to
25 years of age, while assuring that all Latino households in the U.S. had a known
probability of selection.
Surname X X
Very High X X
High X X X
Medium X X X
Low X X X
It is important to note that the existence of a surname stratum does not mean this
was a surname sample design. The sample is RDD, with the randomly selected
telephone numbers divided by whether they were found to be associated with or
without a Latino surname. This was done simply to increase the number of strata
and thereby increase the ability to meet ethnic targets and ease administration by
allowing for more effective assignment of interviewers and labor hours.
• An adjustment was made for all persons found to possess both a landline
and a cell phone, as they were twice as likely to be sampled as were
respondents who possessed only one phone type.
• The sample was corrected to reflect the percentage that is cell-only (25%),
landline-only (21%), or reachable by either a landline or a cell phone
(53%), based upon estimates for Hispanics from the 2008 National Health
Interview Survey.