Gender, Mental Health, and Procedural Justice Perceptions in a Specialized Court Context

• In Event: Gender and Correctional Contexts

Abstract

Procedural justice has become a widely researched topic with applicability to multiple contexts, including policing, corrections, and courts. Its main tenants suggest that through fair treatment, respectful dialogue and being given a proper voice, citizens will view their experiences with authority figures more justly. However, though the literature regarding procedural justice has grown immensely, it is still unclear whether certain characteristics of individuals, such as gender and mental health, play a role in their perceptions of procedural justice. Using secondary data originally collected for Rossman, Roman, Zweig, Rempel and Lindquist’s Multi-Adult Drug Court Evaluation (MADCE), we address the previously neglected association between procedural justice, gender, mental health and the added aspect of specialized drug court participation. Results suggest that both gender and mental health status, namely depression, play a significant role in predicting procedural justice perceptions. Additionally, being a drug court participant was significantly related to higher levels of perceived procedural justice, especially among women. Implications for theory, research, and policy are discussed.

Authors

• Logan Somers, Arizona State University

• Kristy Holtfreter, Arizona State University