NCJ Number
150402
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: special issue (June 1994) Pages: 291-303
Date Published
1994
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Using data collected from a sample of 1,245 black adolescents living in Florida (904 African Americans, 168 Haitians, and 171 originating from other Caribbean islands), this survey assesses the relationship between racial mistrust and adolescents' attitudes toward the law and their disposition toward delinquency.
Abstract
In addition to the survey on deviance, the students completed four items from the Cultural Mistrust Inventory and provided information on their parents' socioeconomic status as measured by level of education. The findings showed that, when compared to white non-Hispanics, African-American and Haitian black adolescents were more willing to violate the law; other Caribbean Island blacks had responses that were not significantly different from white non-Hispanic adolescents. There were no differences among the three groups of black adolescents regarding their disposition to deviance. There seemed to be higher levels of racial mistrust among foreign- born Haitians than among those born in the U.S., and among other Caribbean Islanders who were not born in the U.S. but have lived here more than 5 years. There was a positive correlation between feelings of mistrust and a willingness to violate social norms and laws. Parents' education was a negative predictor of disposition toward deviance only among Haitian respondents. 4 tables, 2 notes, and 41 references