RT Article
T1 Children' and adolescents’ stereotypes of tattooed people as delinquent
JF Legal and criminological psychology
VO 5
IS 2
SP 153
OP 164
A1 Durkin, Kevin 1950-
A1 Houghton, Stephen
A2 Houghton, Stephen
LA English
YR 2000
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1847419151
AB Purpose. Tattoos traditionally have been associated with criminality. This study investigates the possibility that children and adolescents may be more likely to associate tattooed than non-tattooed individuals with delinquent attributes. Method. Children aged 6 to 16 years were presented with a series of illustrations of three men (one of whom was tattooed), and in each case were requested to decide which individual best fitted a negative (delinquent), positive (prosocial) or neutral description. Results. Participants revealed a strong bias to associate the tattooed individuals with the negative attributes, but little tendency to associate them with the positive or neutral attributes. There was some evidence of an increase in the bias during middle childhood. Conclusions. Children appear to acquire by at least age 6 strong negative stereotypes of persons with tattoos. This has implications for children's performance as witnesses in certain contexts; it also indicates that young people electing to obtain tattoos are aware of the criminal stigma attached to this form of body marking.
DO 10.1348/135532500168065