Findings show that violence and engagement with community-based organizations are situational tools that young Southeast Asian men use to navigate their social contexts in an attempt to be resilient in ecological contexts marked by alienation and discrimination, as well as to construct accepted and successful racial and gender identities. Furthermore, it was found that their actions were guided by gendered codes of conduct, such as the "code of the street." Findings corroborate the notion put forth in segmented assimilation theory that living in urban areas of concentrated poverty may be associated with violence. However, unlike in segmented assimilation theory, results highlight the importance of individual agency, as well as racial and gender identity formation in strengthening understanding of Southeast Asian youth violence. Segmented assimilation theory suggests that violence and delinquency are consequences of a cultural contamination by the underclass that can be protected against by maintaining the traditional values and norms of the immigrant's original culture. Findings suggest that violence, as well as other actions is the result of the participants' active navigation of different settings, social codes, and structural constraints. Findings also demonstrate the importance of race and gender, which is not discussed by segmented assimilation theory. Data were collected from an ethnically diverse group of 21 young Southeast Asian men, 13 to 17 years of age, from Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, CA. References