A Test of Differences in Legal Socialization Factors Among Abstainers, Desisters, and Criminals

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

We investigated differences between emerging adults who are desisters or adolescent-limited delinquents (only engage in delinquent behavior as adolescents), abstainers (never engage in delinquent behavior), and criminals or life course criminals (continue to engage in behaviors as adults). The purpose of this research was to discriminate between the three groups on legal socialization factors: legal reasoning, procedural justice, legal attitudes, legitimacy of authority, and legal cynicism. It was hypothesized that abstainers and desisters would score higher in legal reasoning, procedural justice, and approval of enforcement and lower in legal cynicism and approval of rule-violating behavior than criminals. The hypothesis was tested with data from the New Hampshire Youth Survey, a 10 wave longitudinal community study of two adolescent cohorts who were 11 and 14 at the beginning of the study. The data was analyzed using discriminant analysis. Abstainers and desisters reported higher legal reasoning, procedural justice, and approval of enforcement than criminals. In addition, abstainers and desisters reported lower legal cynicism and approval of rule-violating behavior than criminals. The findings have implications for the long-term effects of adolescent-limited delinquency and life course criminals.

Authors

• Ellen S Cohn, University of New Hampshire

• Karen T Van Gundy, University of New Hampshire

• Cesar Rebellon, University of New Hampshire