RT Article
T1 Does contact with the justice system deter or promote future delinquency?: Results from a longitudinal study of British adolescent twins
JF Criminology
VO 58
IS 2
SP 307
OP 335
A1 Motz, Ryan T.
A2 Cullen, Francis T. 1951-
A2 Caspi, Avshalom
A2 Wertz, Jasmin
A2 Moffitt, Terrie E.
A2 Barnes, J. C. 1982-
A2 Arseneault, Louise
A2 Houts, Renate
LA English
YR 2020
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1698227019
AB What impact does formal punishment have on antisocial conduct—does it deter or promote it? The findings from a long line of research on the labeling tradition indicate formal punishments have the opposite-of-intended consequence of promoting future misbehavior. In another body of work, the results show support for deterrence-based hypotheses that punishment deters future misbehavior. So, which is it? We draw on a nationally representative sample of British adolescent twins from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study to perform a robust test of the deterrence versus labeling question. We leverage a powerful research design in which twins can serve as the counterfactual for their co-twin, thereby ruling out many sources of confounding that have likely impacted prior studies. The pattern of findings provides support for labeling theory, showing that contact with the justice system—through spending a night in jail/prison, being issued an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO), or having an official record—promotes delinquency. We conclude by discussing the impact these findings may have on criminologists’ and practitioners’ perspective on the role of the juvenile justice system in society.
K1 Delinquency
K1 Family fixed effects
K1 Labeling
K1 Specific deterrence
K1 Twins
DO 10.1111/1745-9125.12236