NCJ Number
54374
Date Published
1978
Length
148 pages
Annotation
JUVENILE COURT DISPOSITIONS ARE EXAMINED IN RELATION TO THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DEFENDANTS, USING LABELING/CONFLICT THEORY TO INFORM THE ANALYSIS.
Abstract
THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO PROVIDE AN EMPIRICAL TEST FOR THE CONFLICT/LABELING ASSUMPTIONS AND TO STUDY JUVENILE COURT BEHAVIOR IN ARRIVING AT DISPOSITIONS. CONFLICT AND LABELING THEORIES WITH REFERENCE TO SOCIAL CONTROL ARE DISCUSSED AT LENGTH. CONFLICT THEORISTS ARE SAID TO CONTEND THAT THOSE WHO CONTROL THE POLITICALECONOMIC STRUCTURE DEFINE THE CRIMINAL STATUTES AND CONSEQUENTLY THOSE CONSIDERED CRIMINAL. LABELING THEORISTS MAINTAIN THAT DOMINANT, NORMATIVE GROUPS LABEL AS DEVIANT THOSE WHO VIOLATE THE DOMINANT NORMS. THE DATA USED IN THE RESEARCH CAME FROM A STRATIFIED COHORT SAMPLE OF MALES INVOLVED IN BREAKING AND ENTERING, BURGLARY AND AGGRAVATED BURGLARY, AND MIXED COMBINATIONS OF THESE SAME CATEGORIES APPEARING BEFORE A JUVENILE COURT BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1976 AND DECEMBER 31, 1976. THE INITIAL UNIVERSE (N-593), YIELDED A USABLE SAMPLE OF 463. DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES WERE DERIVED AND MEASURED FROM THE SOCIAL HISTORIES, PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES, AND PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATIONS PROVIDED BY THE COURT. IN DETERMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISPOSITIONS AND SUBJECT VARIABLES, 0.05 WAS THE LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE, DETERMINED BY THE USE OF THE STATISTIC CALLED 'GAMMA' AS THE MEASURE OF ASSOCIATION. LEGAL VARIABLES, SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT, AND SOCIAL POWER VARIABLES, TOGETHER WITH THE COMPOSITE SOCIOLEGAL INDEX ALL APPEARED TO CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE VARIATION IN CASE DISPOSITIONS; HOWEVER, THE LEGAL DATA PROVED TO BE A MORE POWERFUL EXPLANATORY COHORT THAN THE SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT AND SOCIAL POWER DATA SET. FINDINGS SUPPORT THE CONFLICT/LABELING POSITION THAT LOWER CLASSES RECEIVE HARSHER TREATMENT FROM THE JUVENILE SYSTEM THAN HIGHER CLASSES. RACE TENDED TO BE A SLIGHTLY STRONGER PREDICTOR VARIABLE AT THE BIVARIATE LEVEL THAN SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS; BLACKS HAVE A GREATER PROBABILITY OF GETTING A MORE SEVERE DISPOSITION. DATA DERIVED FROM THE STUDY ARE PRESENTED, AND FORMS USED TO GATHER DATA ARE PROVIDED IN THE APPENDIX. A BILIOGRAPHY IS ALSO INCLUDED. (RCB)