Racial differences in legal socialization models across adolescence and emerging adulthood.

OBJECTIVE: White and non-White adolescents report different experiences in the legal system. This disparity impacts their evaluations of, and attitudes toward, legal authorities such that non-White and older adolescents tend to perceive the legal system more negatively. Yet, many researchers assume that the process of legal socialization, which involves internalizing norms and information about the law and the legal system, is universal for all ages and races. HYPOTHESES: We hypothesized that legal socialization models would change over the course of adolescent development and would differ by race. METHOD: We used data from two longitudinal studies to examine racial differences in the integrated legal socialization model in early, middle, and late adolescence. Study 1 included 140 young adolescents (59% White, 41% non-White), and Study 2 included 296 midadolescents (82% White, 18% non-White) followed into late adolescence/emerging adulthood. RESULTS: Study 1 identified differences in the integrated legal socialization model for young White and non-White adolescents. Normative status predicted rule-violating behavior for White participants, whereas no predictors or mediators related to rule-violating behavior for non-White participants. In Study 2, legal and moral reasoning during midadolescence became relevant in the model for both groups. Enforcement status predicted rule-violating behavior for non-White youth, whereas normative status continued to predict rule-violating behavior for White youth. In late adolescence/emerging adulthood, differences in the model shifted toward the relation between reasoning and legal attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that legal socialization is a developmental process occurring and changing throughout adolescence and that this developmental process differs for White and non-White youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Keeping kids in school through prearrest diversion: School disciplinary outcomes of the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program.

OBJECTIVES: Developed to keep youth in school and out of court, the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program allows youth to avoid arrest for specified school-based summary and misdemeanor offenses. This study examined whether diverted youth were also less likely to experience exclusionary discipline, both in response to the referring incident and in the following calendar year. HYPOTHESES: We predicted that diverted youth-compared to youth arrested in schools the year before program implementation-would have been less likely to receive a suspension for their school-based incident, receive a suspension in the year following the incident, and be referred for permanent school removal in the year following the incident. METHOD: Using a quasi-experimental design, we examined data from 1,281 diverted youth and 531 comparable youth arrested in Philadelphia schools in the year before program implementation. These 1,812 students (67% male, 75% Black) ranged from 10 to 22 years of age. After using propensity score matching techniques, we conducted mixed-effects logistic regression analyses to compare the matched groups on 3 outcomes: incident-related suspension, postincident suspension, and postincident referral for permanent school removal. RESULTS: No statistically significant group differences in likelihood of incident-related suspension emerged; however, age and gender moderated the relationship between diverted/arrested status and incident-related suspension. Diverted youth were less likely than matched arrested youth to experience both postincident suspension and postincident permanent school removal referral. CONCLUSIONS: The Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program shows promise in reducing the likelihood that youth will experience future exclusionary discipline following a school-based incident. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Preventing school-based arrest and recidivism through prearrest diversion: Outcomes of the Philadelphia police school diversion program.

OBJECTIVES: Created to combat the school-to-prison pipeline, the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program offers voluntary community-based services to eligible youth accused of minor school-based offeses in lieu of arrest. This study evaluated program effectiveness in accomplishing goals related to reductions in school-based arrests, serious behavioral incidents, and recidivism. HYPOTHESES: We expected the annual number of school-based arrests in Philadelphia schools to decrease over the program's first 5 years and predicted that the annual number of serious behavioral incidents would not increase. Further, we expected that diverted youth-compared to youth arrested in schools the year before Diversion Program implementation-would have significantly lower rates of recidivism arrests in the 2 years following their school-based incidents. METHOD: Using a quasi-experimental design, we examined data from 2,302 public school students (67.0% male; 76.1% Black; age range: 10-22 years) who were either diverted from arrest through the Diversion Program or arrested in Philadelphia schools in the year prior to Diversion Program implementation. We compared rate of recidivism arrest, number of arrests, and time to arrest between diverted and arrested youth. We also used district-wide descriptive statistics to examine 5-year trends in school-based arrests and serious behavioral incidents. RESULTS: Since program implementation, the annual number of school-based arrests in Philadelphia has declined by 84% and the number of serious behavioral incidents has declined by 34%. Diverted youth demonstrated less recidivism than arrested youth in the 2 years following their initial incident; however, after propensity score matching, we no longer observed significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that a prearrest diversion program can safely reduce school-based arrests and suggest a need for future research regarding the role of demographic and incident-related characteristics in recidivism outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Police endorsement of color-blind racial beliefs and propensity to interact with youth of color.

The beliefs of police, as the point of first contact with the justice system, may help to explain disproportionate minority contact between police and young people. Color-blind racial beliefs, a form of implicit racism in which racial differences are denied, are more strongly endorsed by police than by laypeople. Using a 2 (youth race) × 3 (offense severity) experimental design, 339 officers participated in an online study examining the influence of youth race, offense severity, and officers' color-blind racial beliefs on officers' reported likelihood of interacting with young people. Officers with lower levels of color-blind beliefs reported they would be less likely to interact with Black youth. Additionally, attrition analyses indicated that officers assigned to the Black youth condition were more likely to drop out when asked to complete the measure of color-blind beliefs. Policy and practice implications are discussed, with a focus on promoting greater discussion of color-blind ideologies in multicultural trainings for police officers and increasing frank discussions about race and racial issues.

Impact of community-based provider reports on juvenile probation officers' recommendations: Effects of positive and negative framing on decision making.

This study examined whether varying the presentation of information about a youth's compliance with probation requirements in community provider reports influenced juvenile probation officers' (JPOs) perceptions and court recommendations. This study used an experimental design to explore the impact of report framing (positive, neutral, negative) and youth risk level (low, high) on JPOs' decision making. Pennsylvania-based JPOs (N = 209) participated in an anonymous, online study. Participants read one of six community provider reports about a hypothetical probationer and answered five questions about impressions of the youth and their recommendations to the court. JPOs who read negatively framed information rated compliance and effort significantly lower than those who read positively or neutrally framed information. JPOs who read negatively framed information reported lower likelihood of recommending positive court responses and greater likelihood of recommending negative court responses, particularly when considering probation revocation for youth identified as high risk. JPOs rated compliance significantly higher for youth identified as low risk than for youth identified as high risk. Mediation analyses revealed that JPOs' perceptions of youth significantly mediated the pathway between report framing and court recommendations, but did not mediate the pathway from youth risk level to JPOs' recommendations. Findings suggest that JPOs differentially interpret identical behaviors depending on the framing of information. Given that negatively framed information evoked significantly more unfavorable impressions and punitive recommendations, practitioners should consider how youths' progress on probation is communicated among court personnel, particularly as ongoing juvenile probation reform efforts seek to promote consistent treatment across youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).