This study examines pathways to legal cynicism among adolescents in Mexico, a context marked by low institutional trust, corruption, and insecurity. Using a three-dimensional measure of legal cynicism (legal antipathy, legal corruption, and low legal legitimacy), data from the ISRD-4 were analyzed through structural equation modeling. Results reveal that individual predispositions (self-control, morality) and self-reported delinquency are most strongly associated with legal cynicism. The discussion highlights intervention strategies in violent and institutionally fragile contexts to prevent youth disengagement from legal norms.
AmeriT.BurgasonK. A.DeLisiM.HeirigsM. H.HochstetlerA.VaughnM. G. (2019). Legal cynicism: Independent construct or downstream manifestation of antisocial constructs? New evidence. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 64, 211–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2019.04.008
2.
BazO.Fernández-MolinaE. (2018). Process-based model in adolescence. Analyzing police legitimacy and juvenile delinquency within a legal socialization framework. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 24, 237–252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-017-9357-y
3.
BoutrosM. (2018). A multidimensional view of legal cynicism: Perceptions of the police among anti-harassment teams in Egypt. Law & Society Review, 52(2), 368–400. https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12326
4.
BrauerJ. R.TittleC. R. (2016). When crime is not an option: Inspecting the moral filtering of criminal action alternatives. Justice Quarterly, 34(5), 818–846. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2016.1226937
5.
CarrP. J.NapolitanoL.KeatingJ. (2007). We never call the cops and here is why: A qualitative examination of legal cynicism in three Philadelphia neighborhoods. Criminology, 45, 445–480. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2007.00084.x
6.
ClarkM.WattsS.McCuddyT.McLeodE. (2023). Antecedents of legal cynicism unpacked: The impact of parental incarceration, race, and ACEs on its development. Journal of Criminal Justice, 88, 102116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2023.102116
Fernández-MolinaE.Grijalva-EternodÁ. (2024). Expectations versus experience: What do citizens demand when dealing with criminal courts?Criminology & Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958241257854
10.
FineA. D.van RooijB. (2021). Legal socialization: Understanding the obligation to obey the law. Journal of Social Issues, 77(2), 367–391. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12440
11.
ForrestW. (2021). The contribution of intimate relationships to legal socialization: Legitimacy, legal cynicism, and relationship characteristics. Journal of Social Issues, 77, 600–630. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12438
12.
GauJ. M. (2014). Procedural justice, police legitimacy, and legal cynicism: A test for mediation effects. Police Practice and Research, 16(5), 402–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2014.927766
13.
GiffordF. E.ReisigM. D. (2019). A multidimensional model of legal cynicism. Law and Human Behavior, 43(4), 383–396. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000330
GottfredsonM. R.HirschiT. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford University Press.
16.
Grijalva-EternodA. (2023). Violencia familiar y victimización fuera del hogar en adolescentes. Diferencias de género en relación con la polivictimización [Domestic violence and outside victimization in adolescents. Gender differences in relation to poly-victimization]. Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, 20(2), e693. https://doi.org/10.46381/reic.v20i2.693
17.
Grijalva-EternodÁ. (2024). Autoridad policial, socialización legal y justicia procedimental: percepciones en adolescentes de Guadalajara [Police authority, legal socialization and procedural justice: Perceptions of adolescents in Guadalajara]. Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Niñez y Juventud, 22(2), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.11600/rlcsnj.22.2.6319
18.
HaganJ.McCarthyB.HerdaD. (2020). What the study of legal cynicism and crime can tell us about reliability, validity, and versatility in Law and Social Science research. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 16, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-031620-093358
19.
HeitkampA.MowenT. J. (2023). The Influence of Formal and Informal Sanctions on Offending: The Moderating Role of Legal Cynicism. Crime & Delinquency, 70(9), 2488–2513. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287231165214
20.
HirtenlehnerH.LeitgöbH. (2021). Differential self-control effects: Moral filtering and the subsidiary relevance of self-control. International Criminology, 1, 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43576-021-00012-3
21.
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). (2024). Encuesta Nacional de Victimización y Percepción sobre Seguridad Pública (ENVIPE) 2024 [National Survey of Victimization and Perception of Public Security (ENVIPE) 2024]. https://www.inegi.org.mx/programas/envipe/2024/
22.
JacksonD. B.TestaA.VaughnM. G. (2020). Low self-control and legal cynicism among at-risk youth: An investigation into direct and vicarious police contact. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 57(6), 741–783. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427820929735
23.
JacksonJ.BradfordB.HoughM.MyhillA.QuintonP.TylerT. (2012). Why do people comply with the law? Legitimacy and the influence of legal institutions. The British Journal of Criminology, 52(6), 1051–1071. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azs032
24.
KaiserK.ReisigM. D. (2019). Legal socialization and self-reported criminal offending: The role of procedural justice and legal orientations. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 35, 135–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-017-9375-4
KirkD. S.PapachristosA. V. (2011). Cultural mechanisms and the persistence of neighborhood violence. American Journal of Sociology, 116(4), 1190–1233. https://doi.org/10.1086/655754
27.
KlineR. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford Press.
28.
LarsonR. W.JensenL. A.KangH.GriffithA.RompalaV. (2012). Peer groups as a crucible of positive value development in a global world. In TrommsdorffG.ChenX. (Eds.), Values, religion, and culture in adolescent development (pp. 164–187). Cambridge University Press.
29.
Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP). (2023). The Americas Barometer [Mexico] 2023. Center for Global Democracy. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop
LópezA. (2024). Reclutamiento y utilización de niñas, niños y adolescentes por grupos delictivos en México: Una forma de explotación en la trata de personas [Recruitment and Use of Children and Adolescents by Criminal Groups in Mexico: A form of Exploitation in Human Trafficking]. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Penales, 7(23), 71–88. https://doi.org/10.57042/rmcp.v7i23.744
32.
MarshallI.BirkbeckC.EnzmannD.KivivuoriJ.MarkinaA.SteketeeM. (2022). International Self-Report Delinquency (ISRD4) study protocol: Background, methodology and mandatory items for the 2021/2022 (ISRD Technical Report #4). Northeastern University. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-78879-1
33.
McLeanK.WolfeS. E.PrattT. C. (2018). Legitimacy and the life course: An age-graded examination of changes in legitimacy attitudes over time. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 56(1), 42–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427818793934
34.
NivetteA. E.EisnerM.MaltiT.RibeaudD. (2014). The social and developmental antecedents of legal cynicism. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 52(2), 270–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427814557038
35.
NivetteA. E.EisnerM.RibeaudD. (2020). Evaluating the shared and unique predictors of legal cynicism and police legitimacy from adolescence into early adulthood. Criminology, 58, 70–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12230
36.
NivetteA. E.TrajtenbergN.EisnerM.RibeaudD.Tourinho PeresM. F. (2020). Assessing the measurement invariance and antecedents of legal cynicism in São Paulo, Zurich, and Montevideo. Journal of Adolescence, 83, 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.06.007
PauwelsL. J. R.SvenssonR.HirtenlehnerH. (2018). Testing Situational Action Theory: A narrative review of studies published between 2006 and 2015. European Journal of Criminology, 15(1), 32–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370817732185
40.
PiqueroA.FaganJ.MulveyE.SteinbergL.OdgersC. (2005). Developmental trajectories of legal socialization among serious adolescent offenders. The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 96(1), 267–298.
41.
PiqueroA.Gomez-SmithZ.LangtonL. (2004). Discerning unfairness where others may not: Low self-control and unfair sanction perceptions. Criminology, 42(3), 699–734. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2004.tb00534.x
42.
ReisigM. D.WolfeS. E.HoltfreterK. (2011). Legal cynicism, legitimacy, and criminal offending: The nonconfounding effect of low self-control. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38(12), 1265–1279. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854811424707
43.
RubiniM.PalmonariA. (2006). Adolescents’ relationships to institutional order. In JacksonS.GoosensL. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent development (pp. 264–283). Psychology Press.
44.
SampsonR. J.BartuschD. J. (1998). Legal cynicism and (subcultural?) tolerance of deviance: The neighborhood context of racial differences. Law & Society Review, 32(4), 777–804. https://doi.org/10.2307/827739
45.
SeddigD. (2024). Assessment of the dimensionality and comparability in legal cynicism measurement. Justice Quarterly, 41(7), 976–1001. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2024.2393197
46.
TrinknerR.CohnE. S. (2014). Putting the “social” back in legal socialization: Procedural justice, legitimacy, and cynicism in legal and nonlegal authorities. Law and Human Behavior, 38(6), 602–617. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000107
47.
TrinknerR.RodriguesH.PiccirilloD.GiffordF. E.GomesA. M. M. (2019). Legal socialisation in Brazil: Examining the generalisability of the procedural justice model. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 44(1–2), 7–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.2019.1587710
TylerT. R.HuoY. J. (2002). Trust in the law. Encouraging public cooperation with the police and courts. Russell Sage Foundation.
50.
TylerT. R.TrinknerR. (2017). Why children follow rules. Oxford University Press.
51.
WaltersG. D. (2024). Mediating the peer delinquency-future offending relationship with legal cynicism and moral neutralization. Deviant Behavior, 46(1), 40–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2024.2328350
52.
WikströmP.-O. (2010). Explaining crime as moral action. In HitlinS.VaiseyS. (Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of morality (pp. 211–240). Springer.
53.
WolfeS. E.McLeanK.PrattT. C. (2017). I learned it by watching you: Legal socialization and the intergenerational transmission of legitimacy attitudes. The British Journal of Criminology, 57(5), 1123–1143. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azw038
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
