Labeling Theory And Juvenile Delinquency

The next article that will be discussed is about labeling theory and juvenile delinquency by Adams, Robertson, Gray-Ray, and Ray (2003). The purpose of this study is to examine juvenile delinquency using the theoretical examination of labeling theory. It examines labeling theory, by seeing how informal (parents, peers, and teachers) labeling and formal (social control agencies) labeling affect adolescents into committing delinquent acts. The researchers hypothesized that adolescents who chose negative labels as their self-image had a greater tendency to be involved in delinquency. This study also uses a quantitative research method to collect their data. This research meets the requirements for this course because, it examines juvenile delinquency

The adolescents chosen for this study were held in Mississippi Youth Services were in custody for several behaviors such as status offense and serious gang related activities. Out of the 337 juveniles that were in the training schools, only 277 of them participated in this study. 28 of the juveniles from the sample were females, and 85% identified themselves as black, 7 Hispanic, 2 Native American, and the rest white. More than half of the juveniles reported that they lived in rural areas. Therefore, the unit of analysis for this study was juveniles that were in custody of Mississippi Youth Services. The major procedural steps that this study took included, organizing a hypothesis that examined labeling theory with juvenile delinquency. They then collected their participants from two of Mississippi’s training schools. After collecting their participants, they gave 337 juveniles a questionnaire that consisted of their demographics. Only 277 out of the 337 juveniles completed the questionnaires and that is how they were left with a sample of 277 adolescents. Correlation analyses were used to see the relationship with informal labeling measures. Regression models were also used to see the effects of each of the labeling measures. The authors then used another questionnaire that included their variables such as formal and informal labeling, which were then

Juveniles were given a series of questions, that would answer if they had been characterized with negative labeling. The use of descriptive adjectives was used for informal labeling to see if the youth have been associated with any types of negative labeling coming from either parents, teachers, or peers. Three indices were used to study the type of delinquency each juvenile participated in, general, drug-related, and serious. General delinquency included criminal acts such as running away from home, suspension, damaging property, or being sent to the principal’s office. Drug-related delinquency included anything that had to do with the juvenile taking any type of drug, and serious delinquency included arson, robbery, theft, motor vehicle theft, or breaking and entering. Collecting all this data, the authors were able to come up with several