The Effects of Juvenile Court Officials' Internal and External Attributions of Court Involved Youth on Case Processing Across Race and Gender

• In Event: Race, Ethnicity and Juvenile Punishment Outcomes

Abstract

Methodologically sophisticated investigations into juvenile case processing have concluded that the discursive consciousnesses employed by court officials reinforce social hierarchies based on race, class and gender (Miller, 1994; Bridges and Steen, 1998; Gaarder, Rodriguez and Zatz, 2004). Drawing on the multiracial feminist concept of the matrix of domination (Collins, 1991; Andersen and Collins, 2004), the present study reviews popular cultural beliefs and social practices that privilege some youth over others and investigates the effects of such thoughts and actions on juvenile case processing. Based on a sample of over 3,000 cases processed by a juvenile court located in a large Kansas county over the years 2013 to 2015, this study examines social patterns consistent with multiracial feminist thought and recent research. While Miller (1994) showed internal and external attributions varied by race among a sample of girls and Bridges and Steen (1998) showed internal and external attributions varied by race among a combined sample of girls and boys, surprisingly few studies have considered these attributional effects across race and gender simultaneously. The present study fills this gap by examining the mediating effect of internal and external attributions on the relationship between race and gender and youth processing outcomes.

Author

• William A Chernoff, Kansas State University