The purpose of this study was to describe the longitudinal trajectories of risk for serious violent behaviors among Latinos of different ancestry in the United States and to examine the impact of neighborhood perceptions, socioeconomic status (SES), and racial/ethnic and immigrant concentration during adolescence in long-term risk. Guided by sociological theories and life-course frameworks, we utilized data from Mexican (n = 755), Cuban (n = 182), Puerto Rican (n = 219), and other Latino (n = 289) respondents who participated in all waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Stratified, weighted, multilevel growth curve models were conducted in Stata 14 MP to determine unadjusted and adjusted trajectories between 13 and 32 years of age for each ancestry group by sex. Violent behaviors decreased over time, and were lower among females of all groups. Puerto Ricans and Cubans had higher risk than Mexicans or other Latinos. Neighborhood factors did not have consistent effects across groups. Neighborhood satisfaction reduced risk among most groups, while social cohesion increased violent behaviors among Mexicans. Neighborhood economic well-being (SES) and proportion of non-Latino Whites had no impact among any group. Living in predominantly Black neighborhoods during adolescence reduced the risk into adulthood among Puerto Ricans, but increased it among other Latinos. Higher neighborhood immigrant concentration was related to higher risk among other Latinos. Initial and long-term risk for violent behaviors differed across Latino ancestry, with slower decreases among Puerto Ricans and Cubans. The impact of neighborhood perceptions, SES, and racial/ethnic and immigrant composition was inconsistent.
Keywords: Latinos/Hispanics; United States; growth curve models; neighborhood contexts; racial/ethnic composition; violent behavior.