1. Police Perceptions and Rule Rejections
By: Chad Roberge
Advisors: Ellen S. Cohn, Ph.D. & Alexander Blandina, M.A.
Hypothesis
Results
Discussion
Method
Introduction
• Different factors lead to rule-violating behaviors in adolescents,
one of which is a weakening of conventional beliefs1.
○ Rule-violating behaviors (RVB) – RVB are any antisocial
behaviors including delinquent acts (Ex. Getting in a fight,
stealing, or lying to a parent).
○ Conventional belief – Any belief that is widely held amongst
most people (Ex. People shouldn’t break the law).
• Rule-violating behaviors in juveniles have been linked with adverse
attitudes towards authority figures and the criminal legal system1,2.
○ Attitudes towards the criminal legal system (ATCLS) - The
extent of respondent’s positive attitudes towards the criminal
legal system.
• The current research aims to see if the relation between attitudes
towards the criminal legal system and rule-violating behavior is
affected by another factor, police legitimacy.
○ Police Legitimacy - A respondent’s positive or negative
perception of law enforcement and its right to exercise authority
over them3,5.
• People who judge police as legitimate figures are more likely to
cooperate with them and have fewer rule-violating behavior4.
• Prior research has not examined the relation between ATCLS and
RVB with the mediating factor of police legitimacy.
● Hypothesis: Police legitimacy will mediate the relationship between attitudes towards the criminal legal system
and rule-violating behavior.
References
1Menard, S., & Huizinga, D. (1994). Changes in conventional attitudes and
delinquent behavior in adolescence. Youth & Society, 26(1), 23-53.
2Martin, T. A., & Cohn, E. S. (2004). Attitudes toward the criminal legal
system: Scale development and predictors. Psychology, Crime and Law,
10(4), 367-391.
3Sunshine, J., & Tyler, T. R. (2003). The role of procedural justice and
legitimacy in shaping public support for policing. Law & Society Review,
37(3), 513-538. doi:10.1111/1540-5893.3703002
4Tyler, T. R. (2004). Enhancing police legitimacy. The annals of the American
academy of political and social science, 593(1), 84-99.
5Wolpin, K. (1983). The national longitudinal handbook: 1983-1984.
Columbus, Ohio: Center for Human Resources Research, Ohio State
University.For more information: ctd34@wildcats.unh.edu
• The data supported the hypothesis that police legitimacy will mediate the
relation between attitudes towards the criminal legal system and rule-violating
behavior.
○ ATCLS was initially negatively correlated with RVB.
○ ATCLS was positively correlated with police legitimacy.
○ Police legitimacy was negatively correlated with RVB, which made the initial
relationship between ATCLS and RVB no longer significant.
• The relation between the attitudes juveniles have towards the criminal legal
system and rule-violating behavior is affected by their feelings towards police
legitimacy.
Implications
• This research confirms the previous findings that the weakening of
conventional beliefs towards the law leads to increased rule-violating behavior1.
• Police officers involved with guiding the behavior of juveniles should take this
information into account when trying to prevent rule-violating behavior.
• The direct and indirect interactions between police officers and juveniles have
a large impact on the attitudes juveniles develop, and officers should be clear
and understanding in these situations.
• Law enforcement officials should work to establish positive relationships with
juveniles in their communities to improve their attitudes towards the legal
system; one example of this would be increasing police involvement in
community events.
Limitations and Future Directions
• Data was collected from schools in the New England area only.
○ Future studies should examine subjects from areas around the country.
• Self-reporting was used, which could have led to some questions being
misunderstood by subjects, or subjects could have provided false information.
○ Future studies should involve direct questioning of subjects to gain results
that are clear and as accurate as possible.
• Follow-up research should examine other mediating factors that could affect
the relationship between ATCLS and RVB.
○ For example, involvement with bullying, attitudes towards parents, and
socio-economic status. These factors could affect the relationship between
ATCLS and RVB in ways different than police legitimacy.
Participants
• 388 participants, 42.7% male, 57.3% female
• 84.2% White
• T1 (Spring 2010) Age M = 15.08 (SD = 1.64)
• Subjects gathered over 3 years from the NHYS, an ongoing
longitudinal study examining different factors believed to influence
adolescent delinquency
Measures
• ATCLS (M= 3.31,SD= .52)2
○ “Most of our laws are fair and just.” (4 point Likert scale, 1=
Strongly Disagree, 4= Strongly Agree)
○ T1 (Spring 2010)
• Police legitimacy (M= 2.79,SD= .44)3
○ “Police can be trusted to make decisions that are right.” (4 point
Likert scale, 1= Strongly Disagree, 4=Strongly Agree)
○ T2 (Fall 2011-Spring 2012)
• RVB (M= 2.03, SD= 2.76)5
○ Dichotomous frequency based score
○ “In the past 6 months, how many times have you… skipped a
full day of school without a real excuse?”
○ T3 (Spring 2014)
Procedure
• Subjects completed 10 surveys over 7 years for the NHYS (New
Hampshire Youth Study).
• The following 3 waves of data were used: T1 (Spring 2010), T2
(Spring 2012), T3 (Spring 2014).
• Data was collected online; participants were given a $20 gift card
as compensation.
ATCLS
Police Legitimacy
RVB
.23*** -.15***
-.10 (-.11*)
R² = .03, F(2, 385)= 6.52, p <.01
*p ≤ .05
**p ≤ .01
*** p ≤ .001
Standardized Beta Coefficients for the hypothesized model
ATCLS Police Legitimacy RVB
ATCLS 1 .229** -.168**
Police Legitimacy .229** 1 -.154***
RVB -.168** -.154*** 1
Correlations between measured variables