Criminology Research Council grant ; (1/85)
Adolescents may perceive as arbitrary the ages at which different acts are determined to become legal, and may thus develop disrespect for the law. Should they view status offences to be justifiable and committed by responsible persons, they may be reluctant to punish the culprits. In this study, adolescents in three age groups (14, 16, and 18 years) were asked to assign responsibility and punishment for the smoking, drinking, and shoplifting of 14, 16 and 18 year old culprits. In contrast to shoplifting, smoking (for example through the underage purchase of cigarettes) and drinking are 'status' offences, determined by a legal age of responsibility. There were significant age of subject and age of culprit differences in attributions of responsibility for status and nonstatus offences. Compared to 16 and 18 year old subjects, 14 year olds assigned more responsibility to 14 year old culprits. Both 14 and 16 year old subjects assigned more responsibility to 16 year old culprits than did their 18 year old counterparts. Subjects aged 16 years were most lenient in their punishment of young smokers and drinkers. Compared with 18 year olds, 14 and 16 year olds as signed less punishment for shoplifting regardless of the culprit's age. Subjects were generally more likely to accept a problematic family environment as grounds to reduce responsibility and punishment for smoking and shoplifting than for drinking. Issues of responsibility and punishment are discussed in terms of the relation between adolescents' compliance and perceptions of the law. For example, it is suggested that the discrepancy between 14 year olds and their elders on the question of responsibility for status offences may transform 16 year olds into rather lenient exponents of punishment for these acts.