Does the Effect of Justice System Attitudes on Adolescent Crime Vary Based on Psychosocial Maturity?

Abstract

Adolescents who view the justice system negatively are prone to commit crime. Simultaneously, youth who have difficulty regulating their behavior are likely to commit crime. Using a longitudinal sample of 1,216 male adolescents (ages 13-17) who had been arrested for the first time, were racially/ethnically diverse, and were drawn from three U.S. states, this study incorporated a developmental perspective into the procedural justice framework to examine whether psychosocial immaturity moderated the effect of justice system attitudes on youth crime. Attitudes toward the justice system were associated with reoffending among psychosocially mature youth, but not among psychosocially immature youth. This developmental perspective indicates that psychosocially immature youth who have difficulty regulating their behavior may be at risk of engaging in crime regardless of how they perceive the justice system.

Trust and Discipline: Adolescents’ Institutional and Teacher Trust Predict Classroom Behavioral Engagement following Teacher Discipline

“…Children's views of authority powerfully impact how they interpret their subsequent experiences with authority figures and institutions (Fine et al., ; Tyler & Trinkner, ). Following these and related restorative justice models (Gregory, Clawson, Davis, & Gerewitz, ), we urge school personnel to begin building trust as soon as adolescents start the school year, so that they may develop a framework that allows them to perceive discipline in a more adaptive way (Okonofua, Paunesku, et al., ; Okonofua, Walton, et al., ).…”

“…Specifically, the procedural justice framework postulates that people's perceptions of procedurally just treatment (e.g., treatment marked by respect and dignity) are closely tied to their perceived legitimacy of the institution and with following its rules (Kaiser & Reisig, 2017;Nagin & Telep, 2017;Trinkner, Jackson, & Tyler, 2018). For example, adolescents who have greater respect for the police and believe that courts protect basic civil rights are less likely to engage in criminal behavior (Fine et al, 2017).…”

Evaluating the shared and unique predictors of legal cynicism and police legitimacy from adolescence into early adulthood

“…Certain individual propensities are also likely to influence how individuals interpret interactions, form social attachments, and recognize rules and legal boundaries (Augustyn & Ray, ; Fine et al., ; McLean et al., ; Nivette et al., ; Reisig et al., ). From this perspective, evaluations of the law stem from internal characteristics that affect cognitive processes and not necessarily from social interactions.…”

“…From this perspective, evaluations of the law stem from internal characteristics that affect cognitive processes and not necessarily from social interactions. In practice, these characteristics typically include low self‐control, psychosocial maturity, negative emotionality, and callous‐unemotional traits (Ameri et al., ; Augustyn & Ray, ; Fine et al., ; Kaiser & Reisig, ; Lee, Steinberg, Piquero, & Knight, ; Scheuerman & Matthews, ; Woolard, Harvell, & Graham, ). Individuals with these characteristics are more likely to react negatively to sanctions and to behave in a hostile or defiant manner that can elicit harsher treatment from authorities (Augustyn & Ray, ; Mastrofski, Reisig, & McCluskey, ; Scheuerman & Matthews, ).…”

“…Legal attitudes such as legal cynicism and police legitimacy shape the way adolescents interact with and interpret rules and authorities (Cohn, Bucolo, Rebellon, & van Gundy, ; Fagan & Tyler, ; Nivette, Eisner, Malti, & Ribeaud, ; Reisig, Wolfe, & Holtfreter, ; Trinkner & Cohn, ; Tyler & Trinkner, ) . Research findings have shown that adolescents and adults who hold negative attitudes toward the law and police are more likely to offend (Fine et al., ; Kaiser & Reisig, ; Reisig et al., ) and hold pro‐violence attitudes (Nivette, Eisner, & Ribeaud, ) and are less likely to desist (Emery, Jolley, & Wu, ). Given the potential importance of legal attitudes as risk factors for criminal and violent outcomes, researchers are increasingly interested in understanding how these attitudes develop over the life course (Fagan & Tyler, ; McLean, Wolfe, & Pratt, ; Tyler & Trinkner, ).…”