Examining Differences in the Effect of Vicarious and Personal Procedural Justice on Legal Orientations and Offending Across Race/Ethnicity Among a Sample of Serious Juvenile Offenders

• Published date: 01 August 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X221086582
• Author: James V. Ray
• Date: 01 August 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X221086582

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2023, Vol. 67(10-11) 1139 –1157

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X221086582

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Article

Examining Differences in

the Effect of Vicarious and

Personal Procedural Justice

on Legal Orientations and

Offending Across Race/

Ethnicity Among a Sample of

Serious Juvenile Offenders

James V. Ray1

Abstract

In the current study it is examined if the impact of vicarious and personal perceptions

of procedural justice on legal cynicism, legitimacy, and offending across time is

invariant across race/ethnicity. Using longitudinal data from a sample of serious

juvenile offenders from the Pathways to Desistance, the within- and between-

individual associations of procedural justice, legal orientations, and offending were

tested. Race/ethnic-specific models were estimated to examine differences across

race/ethnicity. Positive personal and vicarious experiences with police had positive

effects on legal orientations (i.e., legitimacy and cynicism), while vicarious experiences

were more influential on offending compared to personal experiences. These effects

were consistent across race/ethnicity. Both changes in legitimacy (positive) and

cynicism (negative) were important for understanding changes in offending; however,

the effect of cynicism was more consistent across race/ethnicity. The findings suggest

that procedurally just treatment of juveniles by police can enhance legal compliance.

Keywords

procedural justice, legal orientation, legal socialization, self-reported offending, race/

ethnicity

1University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA

Corresponding Author:

James V. Ray, College of Community Innovation and Education, University of Central Florida, 12805

Pegasus Drive, Bldg. 80, Suite 311, Orlando, FL 32816-2368, USA.

Email: james.ray@ucf.edu

1086582IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X221086582International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyRay

research-article2022

1140 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 67(10-11)

Introduction

There is an extensive body of research suggesting the differential treatment of minori-

ties by police (Bolger, 2015; Bolger et al., 2021). Minority youth (particularly Black

youth) are more likely to be stopped by police (Evans & Williams, 2017) and when

stopped, they are more likely to be taken into custody (Fite et al., 2009) compared to

their White counterparts. Considering that police act as the “gatekeepers” to justice-

system involvement, and that decisions made by police can influence later outcomes

throughout the court process, it is important that researchers attempt to better under-

stand the factors associated with police-juvenile interactions. Such interactions can

shape both youth perceptions of police as well as their willingness to comply with the

law. One potential perspective for understanding how these interactions shape one’s

perceptions and compliance is the procedural justice model (Tyler, 1990).

The procedural justice model proposes that experiences with law enforcement

influence our general attitudes toward police and compliance with the law (Tyler &

Lind, 2002). Research has been generally supportive of this model (Mazerolle et al.,

2013; Walters & Bolger, 2019). During adolescence, youth are likely to engage in

rebellious behavior that challenges legal authority. In some instances, such behavior

may result in contact with legal authorities. In line with procedural justice theory, these

early interactions can be particularly impactful on a youth’s perceptions of police

(Tyler & Trinkner, 2017), making this a critical period to examine the influence of

procedural justice on legal attitudes. An important aspect of this model is that proce-

dural justice should affect youth in the same manner regardless of individual charac-

teristics (Tyler, 1990; Tyler & Huo, 2002). It is particularly important to understand

how racial and ethnic differences in both personal and vicarious experiences with law

enforcement influence legal orientations toward police (i.e., legitimacy and cynicism)

and legal compliance (e.g., Gau, 2015; Kaiser & Reisig, 2019). There is little research

that compares the effects of both vicarious and personal experiences with police on

legal orientations toward police and offending behavior across race/ethnic groups.

The current study attempts to fill this gap by examining the longitudinal effects of

vicarious and personal experiences with police on attitudes toward police and legal

compliance using a modeling strategy that decomposes the within- and between-per-

son effects of experiences with police on attitudes and offending (Allison, 2009). More

importantly, these associations are examined for White, Black, and Hispanic youth

separately to determine if ethnic/race-specific effects exist. This approach has impor-

tant implications for understanding how the influence of police-juvenile interactions

influence on one’s attitudes toward police and future compliance with the law may

differ across racial and ethnic groups. On the one hand, the procedural justice model

has been presented as a general explanation of the influence of police-citizen experi-

ences regardless of race/ethnicity (Tyler, 1990). Few studies have tested this funda-

mental proposition (Wolfe et al., 2016). On the other hand, such research may help to

inform the effectiveness of policy and practice aimed enhancing police-juvenile inter-

actions, particularly those focused on enhancing minority perceptions of law enforce-

ment (e.g., Effective Police Interactions with Youth training; LaMotte et al., 2010). In