Violence and Ethnic Origin: An Analysis of Explanatory Factors Using the Example of Turkish Juveniles

Abstract

According to various studies from Germany, youths with a Turkish migration background show higher rates of violence than youths without a migration background. To explain the increased prevalence rate, four theoretical approaches are empirically tested in this article: disorganisation theory, subculture theory, anomie theory and learning theory. The analyses presented are based on representative surveys of ninth grade students in Lower Saxony carried out in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Based on this data, the results confirm that young people with a Turkish migration background show physical violence more frequently (prevalence rate: 12 per cent, German adolescents: 5 per cent). In multivariate analysis, this difference is fully explained by norms of masculinity that justify violence (subculture theory), on the one hand, and by experiences of victimisation (learning theory) on the other. However, disorganisation theory and anomie theory do not explain the higher levels of violence among Turkish adolescents.