Doctoral Dissertation Research: Expanding the legitimacy factor in the procedural justice legal socialization model

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More than any group, adolescents have the highest rate of rule-violating behaviors. This research investigates legal socialization, the process by which individuals develop their understanding of society's rules and make decisions about them. Specifically, the procedural justice legal socialization model predicts that fair treatment by authority figures leads adolescents to view them as more legitimate and, in turn, more likely to obey. Previously, legitimacy has been examined as a composite of trust and an obligation to obey. The current research examines trust and obligation as separate components. Furthermore, although adolescents' perceptions of authority figures' right to make rules has been supported as another important legitimacy factor, it has not been examined in the procedural justice model. This research will examine "right to make rules" as a third legitimacy component. Lastly, this research will incorporate legal (police) as well as non-legal (parents) authority figures. The research will use a sample of 600 young adolescents currently participating in the New Hampshire Youth Study, a longitudinal study of delinquency. In Study 1, participants will read scenarios in which an authority figure (parent/police) acts fairly or unfairly (procedural justice). Perceptions of trust, right to make rules, and obligation to obey will be assessed. In Study 2, participants will read scenarios with trust, right to make rules, and obligation to obey manipulated (high vs. low). Participants will rate how likely the actor in the scenario and they themselves would be to break the rule.The findings will be used to develop an expanded model of legal socialization that integrates a new conceptualization of legitimacy. Ultimately, the proposed research will be able to be used immediately via workshops to inform and support school systems and social service agencies working with youth by providing a basis for the development of intervention efforts aimed at reducing adolescent delinquency.