Identity Orientation, Voice, and Judgement of Procedural Justice During Late Adolescence

• NCJ Number: 216655
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 35 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2006 Pages: 987-997
• Author(s): Mark R. Fondacaro; Eve M. Brank; Jennifer Stuart; Sara Villanueva-Abraham; Jennifer Luescher; Penny S. McNatt
• Date Published: December 2006
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the link between adolescents' opportunity to voice opinions and their perceptions of "procedural justice" (fairness of the procedures used to make a decision) in the context of adolescent-parent conflicts.

Abstract

The study found that participants of all ethnic backgrounds felt they had less opportunity to express themselves under the condition of not being allowed to voice their opinions about how to resolve a conflict with their parents. Under this condition, they viewed the resolution of the conflict as much less fair than those who were told that their parents had solicited and considered their point of view. In addition to the opportunity to voice one's opinions, "personal identity orientation" (personal perceptions of one's characteristics, beliefs, values, and commitments) was an important aspect of perceptions of procedural justice in family conflicts. Adolescents with a strong personal identity orientation who were not allowed to voice their opinions had stronger perceptions that the procedure for resolving the conflict was unfair, compared with participants with weak personal identity orientation. Since low appraisals of fairness within family interactions have been linked to adolescents' deviant behavior and psychosocial problems, it is important that older adolescents have an opportunity to express their feelings, values, and beliefs in family decisions that affect them. Participants were 283 undergraduates at the University of Florida in Gainesville. They read one of two different family-conflict scenarios, one in which an adolescent child voiced opinions in a family conflict and one in which they did not. Following the conflict scenario, participants completed the Family Decision-Making Questionnaire, in which they indicated whether or not the scenario was procedurally fair. They completed the Aspects of Identity Questionnaire as a measure of the strength of individual values, thoughts, and distinctive characteristics. 2 figures, 1 table, appended conflict scenarios, and 38 references