NCJ Number
87855
Date Published
1982
Length
226 pages
Annotation
This study finds weak support for its two main hypotheses that sex accounts for a significant proportion of variability in juvenile justice decisions and that a double standard of justice exists for female delinquents.
Abstract
This study defines a double standard of justice as two sets of sex-specific rules by which the juvenile system operates; e.g., two sets of standards can result in longer sentences and a greater use of institutionalization for the less favored group. The data for this study were collected by the New Jersey Task Force created to study the impact of the new juvenile code. The sample consisted of juveniles processed in 1973 and 1975. The data focused on both juvenile delinquents at three stages: court, juvenile aid bureaus, and court intake. Data were obtained on offense-related, system-processing, juvenile-career, and personal/social characteristics. The court subsample consisted of 2,469 cases, and the juvenile aid bureau subsample was composed of 1,966 cases. A bivariate analysis of sex with each dependent variable was conducted, followed by the application of multiple regression. The juvenile aid bureau data indicated only weak relationships between sex and system decisionmaking at both the bivariate and multivariate stages. Analyses of the court data indicated that sex is significant at the bivariate level but not at the multivariate stage. The relationship is negligible, however. The appendixes provide details on the study methodology and a copy of New Jersey's juvenile code. Tabular data and about 160 bibliographic listings are provided. (Author abstract modified)