Citation

Waldo GP, Hall NE. Soc. Forces 1970; 49(2): 291-289.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1970, Social Forces Journal, Publisher University of North Carolina Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A questionnaire dealing with attitudes toward the criminal justice system was administered to 626 seventh-grade boys. Guttman scales were developed for 9 attitude dimensions associated with the criminal justice system and the relationship of these attitudes to measures of delinquency potential was examined. All of the associations were negative as hypothesized, but of low magnitude. The relationship with delinquency potential was much stronger for some attitudes toward the criminal justice system than others. When race was controlled the relationships varied. The relationship between delinquency potential and attitudes toward the criminal justice system is very complex and many issues must be resolved before a complete acceptance can be made of the generalization that potential delinquents hold more unfavorable attitudes toward the criminal justice system than potential non-delinquents.

KEYWORDS: Juvenile justice; juvenile delinquency