understanding contexts of crime in immigrant youth in Tehran

Immigrant youth are one of the urban groups that are exposed to kinds of problems, crimes and social deviations for various reasons. The aim of this study was to understand the contexts of crime in immigrant youth in Tehran. The method of the present study is qualitative, content analysis and the necessary information has been collected using the technique of observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews. The sample size is 26 immigrant youth who are currently in prison. Immigration with the motive of work and labor and committing criminal behavior are the two dominant forms of immigration motivation by immigrant youth, and crimes related to drugs and theft are the most common crimes among immigrant youth. After careful analysis of the information, six main themes and twenty-one sub-themes were extracted. Finding shows that most of the young immigrants have migrated to Tehran not with the motive of committing a crime, but with the motive of work and labor. However, after a while and encountering multiple negative and damaging situations and incitement to crime, they engage in criminal behaviors. In a nutshell, the migration of young immigrants to Tehran has not only improved the situation of many of them, but has also led to their involvement in common crimes.