Citation

Kaplan T, deBraga F, Taylor M, Mulvey P, Miller MK. Appl. Psychol. Crim. Justice 2017; 13(2): 125-141.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, San Houston State University, College of Criminal Justice)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Juvenile offenders convicted in adult criminal court receive harsher judgments than juveniles in juvenile court and young adults. This disparity could reflect preexisting stereotypes, such that criminal court actors could consider juvenile offenders waived to criminal court to be superpredators rather than wayward youth. This study assessed the relationship between individual differences and superpredator and wayward youth stereotype endorsement. In a sample of 252 MTurk workers, legal authoritarianism and a tendency to attribute crime to internal factors were positively associated with superpredator stereotype endorsement. Moreover, a tendency to attribute the causes of crime to internal factors mediated the relationships between social dominance orientation (SDO), social conservatism, and superpredator stereotype endorsement. Higher scores on SDO and legal authoritarianism were associated with decreased endorsement of the wayward youth stereotype, while a tendency to attribute the causes of crime to external factors was associated with a greater likelihood of wayward youth stereotype endorsement.

Keywords: juvenile justice, juveniles, court transfer, individual differences, superpredator, wayward youth

Language: en