Legal socialization and rule-violating behavior

这个项目研究了为什么一些青少年比其他人更容易违反规则。具体来说，它测试了法律社会化理论的扩展版本，以帮助我们更好地理解为什么一些青少年吸毒、欺负同龄人、暴力行为和/或偷窃。传统上，法律社会化理论假设道德推理、法律推理和法律态度会影响违法行为。更具体地说，人们对道德和法律问题的看法塑造了他们的法律态度，而法律态度反过来又影响了他们的违规行为。一般来说，对法律的积极看法直接影响违反规则，但道德/法律推理对违反规则的影响是间接的（通过法律态度）。传统模式没有考虑到的是，青少年对规则制定者（如警察、父母和教师）合法性的看法也可能影响违反规则的过程。使用来自两个青少年队列的纵向数据，本研究将检验，首先，如果感知合法性影响违反规则独立于其他法律态度。然后，它将通过道德和/或法律推理对青少年对警察、父母和教师合法性的看法的影响来评估道德和/或法律推理对违规行为的影响程度。这项研究建立在对六年级和九年级学生的先前研究的基础上，这些学生被跟踪了四年（2006-2009）。原始研究参与者的数据将在接下来的三年里每年收集一次。目前的研究是第一个纵向研究，考虑各种法律态度的重要性和权威人物的合法性作为违反规则行为的预测因素，并检查它们如何影响道德/法律推理与违反规则之间的关系。最终，这些发现将为以学校为基础的干预设计和政策提供重要信息，旨在减少欺凌和药物使用等行为。

This project examines why some adolescents are more likely to break rules than others. Specifically, it tests an expanded version of legal socialization theory to help us better understand why some teenagers use drugs, bully their peers, act violently, and/or steal. Traditionally, legal socialization theory has hypothesized that moral reasoning, legal reasoning, and legal attitudes affect rule-breaking. More specifically, how people think about moral and legal matters shapes their legal attitudes, which, in turn, influence their rule-breaking behaviors. In general, positive views about the law affect rule violation directly, but the effects of moral/legal reasoning on rule violation are indirect (via legal attitudes). What the traditional model does not consider is how adolescents' views about the legitimacy of rule-makers (e.g., police, parents, and teachers) might also affect rule-breaking processes.Using longitudinal data from two adolescent cohorts, the present study will examine, first, if perceived legitimacy affects rule-breaking independent of other legal attitudes. Then, it will assess the degree to which moral and/or legal reasoning influences rule-violation via its effect on teenagers' perceptions about the legitimacy of police, parents, and teachers. This study builds on prior research on 6th grade and 9th grade students who were followed over a four-year period (2006-2009). Data from the original study participants will be collected annually for an additional three years.The current study is the first longitudinal study to consider the importance of various legal attitudes and the legitimacy of authority figures as predictors of rule-violating behavior, and to examine how they influence the relation between moral/legal reasoning and rule-breaking. Ultimately, the findings will provide important information for school-based intervention design and policies aimed at reducing behaviors like bullying and substance use.