@article{ref1,
title="Does contact with the justice system deter or promote future delinquency? Results from a longitudinal study of British adolescent twins",
journal="Criminology",
year="2020",
author="Motz, Ryan T. and Barnes, J. C. and Caspi, Avshalom and Arseneault, Louise and Cullen, Francis T. and Houts, Renate and Wertz, Jasmin and Moffitt, Terrie E.",
volume="58",
number="2",
pages="307-335",
abstract="What impact does formal punishment have on antisocial conduct--does it deter or promote it? The findings from a long line of research on the labeling tradition indicate formal punishments have the opposite-of-intended consequence of promoting future misbehavior. In another body of work, the results show support for deterrence-based hypotheses that punishment deters future misbehavior. So, which is it? We draw on a nationally representative sample of British adolescent twins from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study to perform a robust test of the deterrence versus labeling question. We leverage a powerful research design in which twins can serve as the counterfactual for their co-twin, thereby ruling out many sources of confounding that have likely impacted prior studies. The pattern of findings provides support for labeling theory, showing that contact with the justice system--through spending a night in jail/prison, being issued an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO), or having an official record--promotes delinquency. We conclude by discussing the impact these findings may have on criminologists' and practitioners' perspective on the role of the juvenile justice system in society.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0011-1384",
doi="10.1111/1745-9125.12236",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12236"
}