Peers' Rejection as a Possible Consequence of Official Reaction to Delinquency in Chinese Society

• NCJ Number: 152484
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 21 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1994) Pages: 387-402
• Author(s): L Zhang
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Drawing on labeling theory, this study examined peers' attitudinal responses to the official label of delinquency in Chinese society.

Abstract

The study considered whether peers' attitudinal responses to official delinquents varied with the severity of official reaction and whether peers' attitudinal responses depended on their own labeling status. Study data came from a survey conducted by the Sociology Department of Nankai University in collaboration with the Tianjin Communist Youth League in Tianjin, China, in 1988. The basic structure of the survey design was based on a comparative strategy in which subsamples were selected from official delinquents in correctional institutions and from nondelinquent youths in the general population. The delinquent subsample was taken from the three principal types of correctional institutions for juveniles: reformatories, re- education labor camps, and prisons. The nondelinquent subsample was drawn primarily from schools and work. Usable questionnaires were obtained from 369 delinquents and 443 nondelinquents. Each respondent was asked the following questions regarding each of three hypothetical official delinquents: Would you be willing to talk to him or her if this kind of person wished to talk to you? Would you be willing to go if this kind of person invited you to his or her home? Would you be willing to work or study with this kind of person? The study found that the severity of official reaction to delinquency was significantly associated with peers' rejection of official delinquents, with this relationship being greater for nondelinquent peers' rejection than for delinquent peers' rejection. Also, peers' attitudinal rejection varied significantly with their own labeling status, but only at certain levels of severity of official reaction. The findings were generally consistent with labeling theory. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for theory and policy. 1 table, 3 notes, and 43 references