Understanding and Measuring Bias Victimization Against Latinos, San Diego, CA, Galveston, TX, Houston, TX, Boston, MA, 2018-2019 (ICPSR 37598)

Version Date: Apr 28, 2022

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Principal Investigator(s):
Carlos A. Cuevas, Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.)

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37598.v1

Version V1

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Summary

This study surveyed immigrant and non-immigrant populations residing in high Latino population communities in order to:

  • Assess the nature and pattern of bias motivated victimization.
  • Explore the co-occurrence of bias motivated victimization with other forms of victimization.
  • Measure reporting and help-seeking behaviors of individuals who experience bias motivated victimization.
  • Identify cultural factors which may contribute to the risk of bias victimization.
  • Evaluate the effect of bias victimization on negative psychosocial outcomes relative to other forms of victimization.
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    The study's sample was a community sample of 910 respondents which included male and female Latino adults across three metropolitan areas within the conterminous United States. These respondents completed the survey in one of two ways. One set of respondents completed the survey on a tablet with the help of the research team, while the other group self-administered the survey on their own mobile device. The method used to complete the survey was randomly selected. A third option (paper and pencil with an administrator) was initially included but was removed early in the survey's deployment. The survey was administered from May 2018 to March 2019 in the respondent's preferred language (English or Spanish).

    This collection contains 1,620 variables, and includes derived variables for several scales used in the questionnaire. Bias victimization measures considered both hate crimes (e.g. physical assault) and non-criminal bias events (e.g. racial slurs) and allowed the respondent to report multiple incidents, perpetrators, and types of bias victimization. The respondents were asked about their help-seeking and reporting behaviors for the experience of bias victimization they considered to be the most severe and the measures considered both formal (e.g. contacting the police) and informal (e.g. communicating with family) help-seeking behaviors. The victimization scale measured exposure to traumatic events (e.g. witnessing a murder) as well as experiences of victimization (e.g. physical assault). Acculturation and enculturation scales measured topics such as the respondent's use of Spanish and English and their consumption of media in both languages. The variables pertaining to acculturative stress considered factors such as feelings of social isolation, experiences of racism, and conflict with family members. The variables for mental health outcomes measured symptoms of anger, anxiety, depression, and disassociation.

    Citation

    Cuevas, Carlos A. Understanding and Measuring Bias Victimization Against Latinos, San Diego, CA, Galveston, TX, Houston, TX, Boston, MA, 2018-2019. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2022-04-28. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37598.v1

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    Funding

    United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice (2016-V3-GX-0001)

    Subject Terms

    Geographic Coverage

    Smallest Geographic Unit

    Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

    Restrictions

    Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.

    Distributor(s)

    Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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    Time Period(s)

    2018 -- 2019

    Date of Collection

    2018-05-17 -- 2019-03-18
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    Study Purpose

    In 2016, the National Institute of Justice funded Northeastern University's "Understanding and Measuring Bias Victimization against Latinos" project with the goal of addressing gaps in the ability to identify, assess, and understand the behavior of bias crime offenders or experiences of bias crime victims.

    The purpose of the project was to (1) measure bias victimization amongst the immigrant and non-immigrant populations residing in high Latino population communities, (2) compare the occurrences of bias motivated victimization with other forms of victimization within said populations, (3) assess the frequency and manner of reporting and help-seeking behaviors in response to bias motivated victimization, (4) identify cultural factors which may influence the risk of bias victimization, and (5) determine if bias victimization has a unique effect on negative psychosocial outcomes compared to other forms of victimizations.

    Study Design

    Respondents were randomly selected to either complete the survey on a tablet accompanied by research staff or to self-administer the study on their own device with a link provided to them. At the beginning of data collection respondents could also be selected to complete the survey using paper and pencil with the research staff, however, this method of administration was removed prior to the completion of the study. Approximately two percent of the surveys were completed using the paper and pencil method.

    The survey instrument consisted of several scales. The Bias Victimization Questionnaire for Latinos (BVQ - L) measured experiences of bias victimization while questions from the Lifetime Trauma and Victimization History (LTVH) instrument measured other forms of victimization. The Help-seeking Questionnaire measured formal and informal help-seeking behaviors. The Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican-Americans (Brief ARSMA-II), the Social, Attitudinal, Familial and Environmental (SAFE) Stress Scale and a modified Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q) measured cultural factors. The Anxiety, Depression, Anger, and Disassociation subscales of the Trauma Symptom Inventory - 2 (TSI-2) measured mental health symptoms.

    Sample

    A convenience sample with respondents recruited through community-based agencies and at Latino-focused events.

    Time Method

    Cross-sectional

    Universe

    Latino adults residing in the United States.

    Unit(s) of Observation

    Individual

    Data Type(s)

    Mode of Data Collection

    Response Rates

    Not applicable.

    Presence of Common Scales

  • Bias Victimization Questionnaire for Latinos (BVQ - L) (Cuevas and Farrell, 2016)
  • Lifetime Trauma and Victimization History (LTVH) (Widom, Dutton, Czaja, and DuMont, 2010)
  • Help-Seeking Questionnaire (Sabina, Cuevas, and Schally, 2012)
  • Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican-Americans (Brief ARSMA-II)
  • Social, Attitudinal, Familial and Environmental (SAFE) Stress Scale
  • Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q) (Marian, Blumenfeld, and Kaushanskaya, 2007)
  • Anxiety, Depression, Anger, and Disassociation subscales from the Trauma Symptom Inventory - 2 (TSI-2) (Breire, 2011)

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    Original Release Date

    2022-04-28

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    Weight

    Not applicable.

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    Notes

    • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

    • One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.