PERCEIVED RISK OF PUNISHMENT AND SELF-REPORTED DELINQUENCY

• NCJ Number: 51135
• Journal: Social Forces Volume: 57 Issue: 1 Dated: (SEPTEMBER 1978) Pages: 57-78
• Author(s): G F JENSEN; M L ERICKSON; J P GIBBS
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 22 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH22350
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Corporate Author: University of North Carolina Press
• Sale Source: Institute for Scientific Information
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: PAPER BASED ON DATA GATHERED AS PART OF A LARGER STUDY OF COMMUNITY TOLERANCE AND MEASURES OF DELINQUENCY

Annotation

AFTER A REVIEW OF DETERRENCE RESEARCH, AN EXAMINATION OF SURVEY DATA COLLECTED FROM SIX ARIZONA HIGH SCHOOLS SHOWS SUPPORT FOR DETERRENCE THEORY IN THAT PERCEIVED RISK OF PUNISHMENT IS INVERSELY RELATED TO SELF-REPORTED CRIME.

Abstract

THE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED AT THREE SMALL-TOWN AND THREE METROPOLITAN SCHOOLS DURING BOTH THE 1973-1974 AND 1974-1975 SCHOOL TERMS. AN ANONYMOUS QUESTIONNAIRE WAS USED TO GATHER RESPONSES FROM APPROXIMATELY 4,000 STUDENTS. THREE MEASURES OF PERCEIVED RISK WERE EMPLOYED INCLUDING TWO AGGREGATE AND QUANTITATIVE MEASURES AND A PERSONAL QUALITATIVE MEASURE. THE INCIDENCE OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR WAS TESTED BY ASKING STUDENTS HOW MANY TIMES THEY HAD COMMITTED CERTAIN TYPES OF OFFENSES IN THE LAST YEAR, AND OTHER VARIABLES WERE MEASURED SUCH AS NORMS OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR AND TIES TO CONVENTIONAL SOCIETY. TABLES ARE PROVIDED ILLUSTRATING FINDINGS. CONSISTENT WITH THE DETERRENCE DOCTRINE, PERCEIVED RISK OF PUNISHMENT AND SELF-REPORTED DELINQUENCY ARE RELATED INVERSELY, REGARDLESS OF THE LOCATION OF THE SCHOOLS, TYPE OF DELINQUENCY, OR THE KIND OF MEASURE OF PERCEIVED RISK. HOWEVER, MEASURES OF PERCEIVED PERSONAL RISK (THE INDIVIDUAL'S PERCEPTION OF HIS OR HER OWN RISK) PROVIDE MORE CONSISTENT SUPPORT FOR THE DETERRENCE DOCTRINE THAN MEASURES OF PERCEIVED AGGREGATE RISK (PERCEPTION OF THE RISK FOR ALL JUVENILES IN THE SAME COMMUNITY). MOREOVER, PERSONAL RISK IS INVERSELY RELATED TO DELINQUENCY EVEN WHEN SOCIAL CONDEMNATION OF DELINQUENT OFFENSES, ATTACHMENT TO CONVENTIONAL PERSONS, AND SEVERAL STATUS CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STUDENT, SUCH AS AGE, SEX, AND ETHNIC STATUS, ARE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. THE SURVEY INSTRUMENT IS NOT INCLUDED. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--DAG)