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

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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.