A nationally representative sample of 1837 youths detained in 42 juvenile correctional programs is analyzed to determine the subjective probability of their being labelled criminal by people because they were sent to a correctional program. Both status offenders and youths committed for more serious offences are increasingly more afraid of being labelled criminal as they penetrate the juvenile justice system and as the quality of interaction between youth and staff in these programs deteriorates. This holds for first-offenders and recidivists alike. Ascribed properties are of secondary importance in accounting for their perceived probability of being labelled criminal.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BeckerHoward SOutsiders. New York: Free Press, 1963.
2.
DuncanOtis D “Inheritance of Poverty of Inheritance of Race?” InMoynihanDavid P(ed), On Understanding Poverty. New York: Basic Books, 1968.
3.
GrichtingWolfgang L (1973) “Sampling Plans and Results.” Ann Arbor: University of Michigan; National Assessment of Juvenile Corrections.
4.
KitsuseJohn (1962) “Societal Reaction to Deviance.” Social Forces9 (Winter): 247–56.
5.
KleinMalcolm W (1972) “On the Front End of the Juvenile Justice System.” Appendix I in Los Angeles Regional Criminal Justice Planning Board, Juvenile System Rates: Diversion.
6.
LemertEdwin MSocial Pathology. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co, Inc, 1951.
7.
MahoneyAnne R (1974) “The Effect of Labeling upon Youths in the Juvenile Justice System: A Review of the Evidence.” Law and Society Review8 (December): 597–608.
8.
QuinneyRichardThe Social Reality of Crime. Boston: Little Brown and Co, 1970.
9.
TannenbaumFrankCrime and the Community. New York: McGraw-Hill Co, Inc, 1951.
10.
TittleCharles R (1975) “Deterrents or Labeling.” Social Forces53 (March): 399–410.
11.
WolfgangMarvin EFiglioRobert M, Sellin, Thorsten Delinquency in a Birth Cohort. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972.
