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社会化过程(即个人如何发展对社会规则的理解并做出遵守或违反这些规则的决定)来调查为什么一些青少年比其他青少年更有可能违反规则。传统的法律社会化模式侧重于个体对道德和法律问题的推理能力以及他们对法律制度的态度。目前的项目测试了一种新的法律社会化模式。那些认为权威人物以公平的方式执行规则的个人预计会认为这一过程是合法的，对规则不那么愤世嫉俗，也更少违反规则。之前测试该模型的研究仅集中在法律领域(例如，警察和法律)；当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正在参加新汉普郡青年研究(NHYS)的500名青少年的样本，这是一项为期七年的关于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、教师和警察)在执行规则时公平或不公平行为的情景。在每种情况下，参与者将对权力的合法性、他们对规则的愤世嫉俗程度以及如果他们处于这种情况下违反规则的可能性进行评级。这些发现将被用来开发一个扩展的法律社会化模式，将这一过程的传统模式和新模式整合在一起。最终，拟议的研究将更全面地了解青少年对规则的理解以及决定违反或遵守规则的方式；从而为制定旨在减少青少年违规行为的干预措施提供基础。

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.