Self-Report Measurement of "Delinquent Orientation" in Institutionalized Delinquent and High School Boys

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a self-report instrument designed to measure "delinquent orientation" as revealed by youths' attitudes, values, beliefs, and goals presumed to be of significance in governing their behavior. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 299 institutionalized delinquents and a sample of 431 high school students in both urban and rural public secondary schools. The samples were matched on age, family's socioeconomic and educational level, and urban or nonurban residence. The expectation that delinquent youths would be more negatively oriented and hence inclined to produce consistently more critical judgments (in regard to their homes, families, school experiences, and the behavior of others) was not confirmed by the findings of this study. Only with respect to unfavorable judgments of the justice system and its personnel were initial expectations upheld. r over 30 years attempts have been made to find ways ion or over 30 years attempts have been made to find ways in which to understand, predict, and gain control over the occurrence of juvenile delinquency. Despite varied efforts, delinquency remains one of the more serious domestic problems in the United States, as evidenced by: ( 1 ) the high percentage of adolescents who become involved in delinquent activity at some point during their teen years; (2) the high incidence of illegal

An integrated model of legal and moral reasoning and rule-violating behavior: The role of legal attitudes.

“…Further, delinquent adolescents may hold more negative views of the legal system and the police than their nondelinquent peers. For example, institutionalized delinquents have been shown to hold significantly more negative judgments than high school students toward the justice system and its personnel (Peterson, Urban, & Vondracek, 1975). Similarly, delinquent adolescents tend to believe less than do nondelinquents in the moral validity of the law (Mak, 1991).…”

Comportamento social na adolescência: as normas e a rotina na regulação da conduta delituosa

“…Por exemplo, adolescentes cumprindo medida judicial em instituições realizavam julgamentos significativamente mais negativos que alunos do ensino médio do Sistema de Justiça e de seus representantes, especialmente da Polícia (Peterson, Urban & Vondracek, 1975). Um estudo mostrou que esta medida de atitude em relação ao sistema legal está relacionada às experiências dos indivíduos neste sistema (Martin & Cohn, 2004).…”