NCJ Number
189167
Journal
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2001 Pages: 169-200
Date Published
June 2001
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This paper tests hypotheses implicit in the societal-reaction perspective concerning the nature and pattern of the relationship between prior and current youth court dispositions.
Abstract
The dispositional stage is the most critical decision making level that young offenders encounter in their contact with the youth court system. Previous research has produced inconsistent results in the attempt to determine which model or models of justice underlie dispositional decisions by youth court judges. Log-linear modeling was used on 16,636 youth court cases in Canada in 1993/1994 to determine the nature and magnitude of the relationship between current and prior dispositions. Prior youth court dispositions had a significant influence on current dispositions, even when relevant variables were controlled. Evidence was found mainly of stabilization, i.e., repetition of the same type of disposition, and also of escalation in dispositions. The paper concludes that these findings support the societal-reaction theory and possibly the desert-based theory of sentencing. Notes, tables, appendix, references