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Age-Graded Differences and Parental Influences on Adolescents’ Obligation to Obey the Law

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Abstract

Purpose

Legal socialization is the study of how individuals develop their attitudes towards the law and its authorities. While research on perceptions of legal authorities has increased, studies have not adequately examined developmental trends in youths’ obligation to obey the law in particular.

Methods

This study uses a cross-sectional sample of 218 adolescent-parent dyads in two states and utilizes two assessment strategies for the obligation to obey the law.

Results

The results indicate that paralleling the age-crime curve, the obligation to obey the law exhibits a curvilinear trend, declining during adolescence before increasing into adulthood. Second, parental perceptions of the obligation to obey the law were consistently associated with their children’s obligation to obey the law throughout adolescence.

Conclusions

Development and intergenerational socialization emerge as vital components in understanding youths’ perceived obligation to obey the law.

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Funding

This research was generously supported by the UC Irvine Dean’s Dissertation Data Collection Grant, the American Psychological Foundation (APF) Annette Urso Rickel Foundation Dissertation Award for Public Policy, and the American Psychology-Law Society (APLS) Grants-in-Aid Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University, 411 N. Central Ave, Suite 633, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA

    Adam Fine

  2. University of Texas, El Paso, TX, USA

    April Thomas

  3. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Benjamin van Rooij

  4. University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    Elizabeth Cauffman

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  2. April Thomas
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Correspondence to Adam Fine.

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Fine, A., Thomas, A., van Rooij, B. et al. Age-Graded Differences and Parental Influences on Adolescents’ Obligation to Obey the Law. J Dev Life Course Criminology 6, 25–42 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40865-020-00134-8

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