Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2001 Criminal justice system involvement and continuity of youth crime: a longitudinal test of labeling theory Lee Michael Johnson Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Criminology Commons, and the Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons Recommended Citation Johnson, Lee Michael, "Criminal justice system involvement and continuity of youth crime: a longitudinal test of labeling theory " (2001). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 1051. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/1051 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. 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All rights reserved UMI Number: 3016716 UMI ® UM! Microform 3016716 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 I Criminal justice system involvement and continuity of youth crime: a longitudinal test of labeling theory Lee Michael Johnson Major Professor: Ronald L. Simons Iowa State University Adolescent crime is a major issue confronting not only the criminal justice system and the general public, but researchers as well. Studies of criminal careers reveal several possible factors explaining persistent offending. At one time, labeling theory was a popular explanation for continued deviance, but a lack of empirical support and conceptual objections soon made the theory unpopular. In this analysis, labeling theory is integrated with other theories and then re-considered as an explanation for persistent youth crime. The primary contention here is that formal legal sanctioning—in the form of involvement with the police, courts, and correctional agencies—may. ironically, operate as a factor sustaining persistent offending. Seven waves of data collected on 153 males were used to test a model hypothesizing relationships among criminal justice system involvement, association with deviant peers, and crime—over time. Results revealed continuity in offending across waves, but only partial continuity in deviant peer association. More importantly, consistent with labeling theory, criminal justice system involvement was positively related to later crime, as well as to later deviant peer association. Further, crime was positively related to later deviant peer association, but 2 deviant peer association was not related to later crime, and same-time correlation between the two were significantly positive. While, understandably, crime predicted criminal justice system involvement, deviant peer association did not. Based on these results, labeling processes should be viewed within a life course perspective, and implications for theory, research, and treatment are discussed. ii Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the Docto*ral dissertation of Lee Michael Johmson has met the dissertation requirements >of Iowa State University Signature was redacted for privacy. Major Professor Signature was redacted for privacy. For the Major Pr gram Signature was redacted for privacy. For the Gnujdate College iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv INTRODUCTION 1 LABELING THEORY 5 Overview of "Classic" Labeling Theory 5 A Critique and Defense of Labeling Theory 28 REVISED LABELING THEORY 48 Braithwaite's Theory of Reintegrative Shaming 48 Labeling Theory as "Developmental Criminology" 51 The Life Course Perspective and Criminology 59 A Life Course Conceptualization of Labeling Theory 63 The Model to be Tested 76 METHODS 89 Sample and Data Collection Procedure 89 Analytic Strategy 91 Measures 91 RESULTS 95 DISCUSSION 103 Interpretation of Results 103 Suggestions for Future Theory and Research 114 A Revised Self-Concept Perspective on Labeling 126 Conclusion: Implications for Treatment of Youth Offenders 132 APPENDIX. MEASUREMENT ITEMS 139 REFERENCES 142 iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my major professor, Ron Simons, and his colleagues for permitting me to use the Iowa Youth and Families Project data set, as well as my fellow graduate students for helping me analyze this data, and for their moral support. —Mike Johnson 1 INTRODUCTION This analysis explores the possibility that children who get involved with the criminal justice system continue their illegal behavior as a result of this involvement. I use longitudinal data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project (IYFP) to test a structural equation model arguing that criminal justice system, involvement plays a mediating part in youth crime continuity. Here, I am proposing what many theorists already have—that societal reactions to crime by formal social control agents are responsible for a portion of crime. Thus, it seems logical to take an approach that would fall under the rubric of societal reaction theory. In particular, the proposition that social responses to crime lead to more crime is fundamental to labeling theory. This analysis explores a timely issue important not only to deviance scholars, but to professionals working with troubled youth as well as the general public. The public is given much to worry about with regard to children and teenagers as a safety threat, especially with media reports of youth crime ranging from petty theft to gang violence and school shootings. While it is safe to assume that citizens generally want to be protected from crime, a civil society is also faced with constructing well- conceived humanitarian efforts to help persons inhibiting their quality of life with their own behavior. It is fairly apparent that efforts by criminal justice and social work agencies, as well as others in the community, have not stopped youth crime to the extent most of us would like. Herein, it is my intent to confront the problem of understanding why certain youth persistently offend despite aggressive efforts by 2 agents of the criminal justice system to stop them. With this analysis, I hope to gain some insights as to what we can do to prevent chronic offending. Juvenile delinquency is very common. Adolescents commit a disproportionate amount of crime, including the more serious violent and property crime. In 1999, youth aged 13-17, who only account for about 6 percent of the general population, were involved in 16 percent of all Violent Crime Index arrests and 32 percent of all Property Crime Index arrests in the United States (OJJDP, 2000). Aggregate data is fairly consistent in revealing an "age-crime curve"—crime rates rise sharply in teenage years, peak at about 16 to 18 years old, and then decline significantly with age (Moffitt, 1993; Sampson and Laub, 2001a). Youth cohort studies (Harrington and associate's Cambridge study and Wolfgang and associate's Philadelphia study, for instance) on crime persistence and recidivism tend to show that the probability of re-offending increases after each offense (Farrington, 1997). Thus, while research on youth crime validates public concern over it as a social problem, it also shows that the vast majority of teenagers stop committing illegal behavior after entering adulthood—they "age-out" of crime. After age cohorts reach adulthood, what is left is a small category of chronic offenders. Much of our "crime problem" may be attributed to this small category (Sampson and Laub, 2001a). While life-course theory does well in explaining why most