Doctoral Dissertation Research: Expanding the new legal socialization model to parents, police, and teachers using the factorial survey design

这项研究通过调查法律的社会化过程（即，个人如何发展他们对社会规则的理解，并决定遵守或违反这些规则）。 传统的法律的社会化模式关注个人对道德和法律的问题的推理能力以及他们对法律的制度的态度。 目前的项目测试一种新的法律的社会化模式。那些认为权威人物以公平的方式执行规则的人预计会认为这个过程是合法的，对规则不那么愤世嫉俗，也更少违反规则。以前测试这种模型的研究只集中在法律的世界（例如，警察和法律）;目前的研究将包括家长、教师和警察作为权威人物。 这项研究将使用目前参加新罕布什尔州青少年研究（NHYS）的500名青少年的样本，NHYS是一项为期7年的青少年犯罪预测因素的纵向研究。 参与者将阅读描述权威人物（即，家长、老师和警察）在执行规则时表现得公平或不公平。 在每个场景之后，参与者将评估权威的合法性，他们对规则的玩世不恭，以及如果他们处于这种情况下，他们违反规则的可能性。 调查结果将用于开发一个扩大的法律的社会化模式，整合这一进程的传统和新的模式。 最终，拟议的研究将提供一个更全面的了解青少年发展他们的理解规则，并决定打破或遵守规则的方式，从而提供了一个基础，制定干预措施，旨在减少青少年中的违规行为。

This research investigates why some adolescents are more likely to break rules than others by investigating the legal socialization process (i.e., how individuals develop their understanding of society's rules and make decisions to obey or break those rules). Traditional models of legal socialization focus on individuals' ability to reason about moral and legal issues and their attitudes about the legal system. The current project tests a new legal socialization model. Individuals who view authority figures that enforce rules in a fair manner are predicted to perceive the process as legitimate, to be less cynical about the rules, and to break fewer rules. Previous research testing this model has focused solely on the legal world (e.g., police officers and laws); the current research will include parents, teachers, and police as authority figures. The study will use a sample of 500 adolescents currently participating in the New Hampshire Youth Study (NHYS), a seven year longitudinal study of the predictors of delinquency. Participants will read scenarios describing situations in which an authority figure (i.e., parent, teacher, and police officer) behaves fairly or unfairly when enforcing a rule. After each scenario, participants will rate how legitimate the authority is, their cynicism toward the rule, and the likelihood they would break the rule if they were in the situation. The findings will be used to develop an expanded model of legal socialization that integrates both traditional and new models of this process. Ultimately, the proposed research will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the manner in which adolescents develop their understanding of rules and decide to break or obey rules; thereby providing a basis for developing interventions aimed at reducing rule breaking among adolescents.