Citation

Lind AW. Am. J. Sociol. 1930; 36(2): 206-220.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1930, University of Chicago Press)

DOI

10.1086/215337

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Delinquency and disorganization in Honolulu, as measured by the incidence of juvenile court cases, suicide, family dependency, and arrests for vice, tend to follow the same spatial patterns as in other cities. The presence in Honolulu, however, of a number of large population groups with competing moral standards occasions marked deviations from the normal ecological patterns of disorganization characteristic of American cities. The conservative pressure of the immigrant ghetto still provides effective resistance to the disintegrating forces of urban life, but it also leads to conflict with the legal standards imposed by the American community. Suicide, for example, mounts in the areas inhabited by orientals and declines in the sections occupied by the non-suicidal Hawaiians and Portuguese. The diminishing strengh of the immigrant community controls is measured by the rise of certain delinquency types and the participation of the second generation in delinquent behavior with members of other racial groups. One of the most effective melting pots for the races is the crucible of crime.