NCJ Number
89167
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1983) Pages: 191-199
Date Published
1983
Length
9 pages
Annotation
A study of 1,667 students in 2 separate public school systems in Kitchener-Waterloo and metropolitan Toronto, Canada, found that students' attitudes toward the teacher were primary in predicting attitudes toward police.
Abstract
If the students held the teacher in low or high regard, or thought the teacher possessed great or little power, or found the teacher easy or hard to understand, then to that extent did the students regard the police as likable or powerful or understandable. The study measured attitudes toward police using a list of 13 general evaluative statements about police and had subjects compare their attitudes toward the police with their attitudes toward their parents, teachers, and selves. Results showed that students' attitudes toward their teachers were more relevant than their attitudes toward their parents in predicting their attitudes about police. Thus, the results imply that if students' attitudes toward teachers are positive, their attitudes toward more impersonal authority, such as police, would also be positive. Tables and 20 references are provided.